LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OK- 


Accession  No.  /  6'tfib  ^    •    Class 


No. 


FRONTISPIECE. 


A  WAITING  BEACH-MASTER,   LUKANIN   ROOKERY,  SAINT  PAUL  ISLAND. 
Drawn  from  life  by  Bristow  Adams. 


LI  -  §\   C^u^tii^^W    *£&&£"     £^n^  jrn 

V 

1>U-  -XL^t-^ 

'  v 

THE 


FUR  SEALS  AND  FUR-SEAL  ISLANDS 


OF   THE 


BY 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN, 

President  of  Lelana  Stanford  Jr.  University, 

COMMISSIONKR    IN    CHARGE   OF    FUR-SEAL  INVESTIGATIONS    OF   1896-97. 

WITH   THE   FOLLOWING  OFFICIAL  ASSOCIATES: 
LEONHARD    STEJNEGER   and    FREDERIC    A.   LUCAS, 

Of   the    T_J.    S.    National    Museum. 

JEFFERSON    F.    MOSER, 

Lieutenant-Commander,  U.  S.  N., 
In  Command  of  the  U.  S.   Fish  Commission  Steamer  Albatross. 

CHARLES    H.    TOWNSEND, 

Of   the    U.     S.    Fish    Commission. 

GEORGE    A.    CLARK, 

Secretary    and    Stenographer. 

JOSEPH    MURRAY, 

Special    Agent. 
WITH    SPECIAL    PAPERS   BY   OTHER   CONTRIBUTORS. 


PART  1. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 
I8q8. 


CONTRIBUTORS    OF    PAPERS   ON    SPECIAL   SUBJECTS. 

7  6-6-6 

~ 


WILLIAM    H.    ASHMEAD, 
NATHAN    BANKS, 
O.    FULLER    COOK, 
DANIEL    V^.    COQUILLET, 
\VILLIA.N1    M.    DA.LL, 
\VILLIAM    R.    DUDLEY, 
HARRISON    G.    DYAR, 
ELMER    E.    KARNIER, 
FIERRE    A.    FISH, 
CHA.RLES    H.    GILBERT, 
ALBERT    HASSALL, 
NIARTIN    LINNELL, 
JAMES    M.   MACOUN, 


JENNIE    C.    MILLER, 
\VALTER    MILLER, 
V^ILLIAM    PALMER, 
N1A.RY    J.    RA.XHBUN, 
V^ILLIAM    E.    RIXTER, 
JOSEPH    N.    ROSE, 
EUGENE    A.    SCHWARZ, 
ROBERT    E.    SNODGRASS, 
\VILLIA3VL    A.    SNO\V, 
CHARLES    "W  '.    STILES, 
\VILBUR    ^V.    THOBURN, 
FREDERICK    W.    TRUE. 


HsTIVERSITY 
\J 


jr 

fu 


PART    I, 


THE  HISTORY,  CONDITION,  AND  NEEDS  OF  THE 

HERD  OF  FUR  SEALS  RESORTING  TO 

THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 


DAVID    STARR    JORDAN 

AND 

GEORGE  ARCHIBALD  CLARK. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  PHOTOGRAPHS,  AND  BY  DRAWINGS  FROM  NATURE  BY  BRISTOW  ADAMS. 


15184 1 


TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

Document  No.  2017. 
Division  of  Special  Agents. 


FEBRUARY  24, 1898. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  my  final  report  as  commissioner  in  charge 
of  fur-seal  investigations  for  the  seasous  of  1896  and  1897. 
Very  respectfully,  yours, 

DAVID  STARR  JORDAN, 

Commissioner. 
Hon.  LYMAN  J.  GAGE, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Washington,  D.  C. 

3 


TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 
PART  I. 


CHAPTER           I.— INTRODUCTION  :  Page. 

The  occasion  of  the  inquiry 17 

The  act  of  Congress 17 

The  commission 17 

The  scope  of  the  work 18 

The  investigations 19 

The  report 19 

Itinerary,  1896 20 

Itinerary,  1897 21 

CHAPTER         II. — HISTORICAL  SKETCH: 

Discovery  and  exploration 23 

Bering's  second  voyage 23 

Discovery  of  Commander  and  Pribilof  islands 23 

The  Russian- American  Company 23 

Its  organization 24 

The  ukase  of  1821 24 

The  second  and  third  charters 24 

The  company's  management 25 

Injurious  methods 25 

Protection  of  females  25 

The  herd  at  the  close  of  Russian  control 26 

The  interregnum 26 

Professor  Dall's  notes 26 

The  number  of  seals  killed 26 

Mr.  Howes's  notes 26 

The  trading  companies 26 

The  work  of  sealing 27 

Methods  of  driving 27 

Russian  methods 27 

The  killing  not  indiscriminate 28 

American  management 28 

The  Alaska  Commercial  Company 28 

The  first  lease 29 

The  North  American  Commercial  Company 29 

The  present  lease 29 

The  decline  in  the  bachelor  herd 29 

Land  and  sea  killing 29 

The  extension  of  sealing  to  Bering  Sea 30 

The  Tribunal  of  Arbitration 30 

The  effect  of  the  Regulations 30 

CHAPTER        III. — TIIK  HOME  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS: 

A.  The  Pribilof  Islands 31 

Their  geography 31 

St.  Paul  Island 31 

St.  George  Island 31 

Otter  Island 32 

Walrus  Island 32 

5 


6  TABLE    OF    CONTKNTS. 

CHAPTKK        III. — THK  HOME  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS — Continued. 

A.  The  Pribilof  Islands — Continued.  Page. 

Sivutcli  Eock 32 

The  climate 32 

No  good  harbors 32 

Vegetation 33 

The  mammals 33 

The  birds 33 

Inhabitants 33 

Conditions  in  Russian  days 34 

Conditions  in  American  days 34 

The  handling  of  the  seals 34 

The  support  of  the  Aleuts 35 

The  Government  agents 35 

B.  The  fur-seal  rookeries 36 

The  breeding  grounds 36 

The  hauling  grounds 36 

The  St.  Paul  rookeries 36 

Vostochui 36 

Morjovi 37 

Polovina 37 

Lukanin 38 

Kitovi  38 

Reef 38 

Sivutch  Rock  38 

Gorbatch 39 

Ardiguen 39 

Spilki 40 

Lagoon  40 

Tolstoi '. 40 

Zapadni 40 

Little  Zapadni 40 

Zapadni  Reef 41 

Maruuicheu 41 

The  St.  George  rookeries 41 

Zapadni 41 

Staraya  Artel 41 

North ,.: 42 

Little  East 42 

East 42 

CHAPTER    IV. — THE  FUR  SEAL  OR  SEA  BEAR: 

Its  relatives 43 

The  sea  bear  and  true  seal 43 

The  fur  seals  of  the  Antarctic 43 

The  fur  seals  of  the  North  Pacific 44 

Steller's  account 44 

The  three  herds 44 

The  Pribilof  herd _ 44 

The  Komandorski  herd 44 

The  Robben  Island  herd 45 

Three  distinct  species 45 

Callorhinus  alascanns 45 

Callorbinus  ursinus 45 

Callorhinus  cnrileusis 45 

The  nomenclature  of  the  fur  seal  46 

The  categories  of  seals 46 

The  male..                                                                                       46 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  7 

CHAPTER        IV. — THE  FUR  SEAL  on  SKA  BEAK— Continued.  Page. 

The  categories  of  seals — Continued. 

The  female 46 

The  bachelor 46 

The  half  bull 47 

The  idle  bull 47 

The  yearlings  and  virgins 47 

The  pups 47 

The  migrations  of  the  seals 47 

Their  summer  movements 47 

The  limits  of  migration 48 

Its  course  and  duration 48 

CHAPTER          V.— THE  DAILY  LIFE  OF  THE  ROOKERIES: 

The  arrival  at  the  islands 49 

The  males 49 

Date  of  earliest  arrivals 49 

The  oldest  come  first 49 

The  bachelors 50 

Statistics  of  killings 50 

Beginning  of  the  sealing  season 50 

The  arrival  of  the  cows 51 

Their  incoming  gradual 51 

Their  arrival  not  the  occasion  of  fighting 52 

The  method  of  landing 52 

Massed  rookery  formation 52 

Daily  rookery  counts 53 

Synopsis  of  Kitovi  rookery 53 

The  height  of  the  season 53 

Fluctuation  of  population 54 

Amphitheater  of  Kitovi 54 

Increase  of  families 54 

What  the  height  of  the  season  means 54 

The  period  currently  misunderstood •-_ 55 

The  birth  of  the  pup 55 

The  feeding  of  the  cows : 55 

Swimming  seals 55 

The  seal  digests  its  food  in  the  water 56 

The  evidence  of  the  pups 56 

The  fasting  of  the  seals 57 

The  harem 57 

Large  harems 57 

Harem  sizes 58 

Harem  discipline 5S 

The  departure  of  the  cows 58 

Methods  of  discipline 59 

The  fighting  of  the  bulls 59 

The  early  lighting  overestimated 59 

No  fighting  over  arriving  cows 60 

Fighting  influenced  by  sexual  instinct 60 

Manner  of  fighting 61 

Real  lighting (51 

The  treatment  of  the  cows 61 

The  wounds  of  the  fur  seal 02 

The  instinct  for  fighting 62 

The  noise  of  the  rookeries 63 

The  sleeping  seals 63 


8  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER          V. — THE  DAILY  LIFE  OF  THE  ROOKERIES — Continued.  PaKe. 
The  arrival  at  the  islands — Continued. 

Thei  r  attitudes 64 

The  coloration 64 

The  pelage 65 

The  stagy  season 65 

The  arrival  of  the  younger  seals 66 

The  breaking  up  of  the  breeding  season 67 

The  condition  of  the  bulls 67 

The  food  and  feeding  grounds 68 

The  age  of  the  fur  seals 68 

The  fur  seal  pup 68 

The  swimuiiug  of  the  pups 69 

The  excursions  of  the  pupa 69 

Mortality  among  the  seals 70 

Death  of  pups 70 

The  parasite,  Uncinaria 70 

The  count  of  dead  pups,  1896 70 

Comparative  counts 71 

The  departure  of  the  seals 71 

The  enemies  of  the  seals 71 

The  Great  Killer 71 

The  departure  of  the  bachelors  and  bulls 72 

The  swimming  of  the  seals 72 

The  rate  of  travel 72 

Habits  of  the  southern  fur  seals 73 

Their  movements 73 

They  do  not  migrate 73 

Breeding  habits 73 

Breeding  grounds 74 

The  fighting  of  the  bulls 74 

Difference  in  time  of  birth 74 

CHAPTER        VI. — THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  FUR  SEAL  HERD: 

A.  Past  conditions 75 

Acreage  measurements 75 

Their  difficulty 75 

Absence  of  reliable  surveys . .  76 

The  irregular  nature  of  the  ground 76 

Chiefly  guesswork 76 

M  agnitude  of  the  problem 76 

Early  estimates 77 

Captain  Bryant's  estimate 77 

The  beginning  of  acreage  measurements 77 

Elliott's  estimate  of  1872-74 77 

Important  assumptions 78 

The  law  of  distribution 78 

Assumptions  incorrect. 78 

The  true  law  of  distribution 78 

Stability  of  rookery  conditions  only  apparent 78 

Results  of  Elliott's  enumeration 79 

The  figures  unreasonable 79 

The  methods  of  enumeration 79 

The  surveys  can  not  be  verified 80 

The  effect  of  inaccurate  surveys 80 

Inadequate  unit  of  space 80 

A  more  rational  unit. . ,                                                                     81 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CIIAPTKK        VI. — THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  FUR  SEAL  HEKD — Continued.  Page. 

A.  Past  conditions — Continued. 

The  estimate  for  Kitovi  and  Lukauin 81 

A  measure  of  the  overestimate 82 

The  counts  of  Mr.  Beaman 82 

Captain  Bryant's  note 82 

Spilki  and  Polovina 83 

Personal  estimates  differ 83 

Elliott's  use  of  figures 83 

Mr.  Tingle's  estimate 84 

The  estimate  incorrect 84 

Elliott's  1890  estimate 84 

This  estimate  unsatisfactory 84 

The  True  and  Townsend  estimate  for  1895 85 

The  estimate  must  be  doubled 85 

It  anticipated  the  season 85 

Arbitrary  reduction  for  massed  rookeries 85 

The  estimate  revised 8fi 

The  important  feature  of  the  estimate 86 

Mr.  Crowley's  estimate  for  1895 86 

Colonel  Murray's  estimate 87 

Defects  of  this  estimate 87 

Contrast  of  estimates  for  1895 87 

Contrast  of  acreage  measurements 88 

Summary  of  past  conditions 88 

A  reconstruction  of  earlier  estimates 88 

The  earlier  and  later  quotas 88 

The  quota  dependent  upon  the  breeding  herd 88 

Estimates  of  non-breeding  seals 89 

The  reconstruction  still  only  an  estimate 89 

Completed  estimate 89 

B.  Present  conditions 90 

The  census 90 

Its  difficulty 90 

Actual  counts 90 

Kitovi  rookery  taken  as  typical 91 

Census  of  harems  and  cows 91 

Original  counts  for  St.  George 91 

Estimate  for  St.  George 91 

This  estimate  unsatisfactory 92 

The  great  excess  of  pups 92 

Count  of  pups 92 

Correction  for  absent  cows 93 

Summary  of  breeding  seals 93 

Revision  of  census  of  1896 93 

Corrections  on  St.  George 93 

Corrections  on  St.  Paul 94 

Sivutch  Rock 94 

The  important  error  in  the  census  of  1896 94 

Revised  census  of  1896 95 

The  value  of  this  census 95 

The  census  of  1897 96 

The  count  of  pups  in  1897 96 

Comparison  of  counts  of  cows  and  pups 96 

Proportion  of  cows  to  pups '. 96 

Average  harem  of  Kitovi 97 

Census  of  1897  ..  97 


10  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER        VI. — THE  CONDITION  OF  THK  FI-R  SEAT,  HEKD— Continued.  Page. 
B.  Present  conditions — Continued. 

Its  value 97 

The  enumeration  of  nonbreediug  seals -98 

Idle  and  half  bulls 98 

The  bachelors 98 

Rejected  seals 98 

The  one  and  two  year  old  females 99 

The  losses  among  the  young  seals 99 

The  estimates  of  nonbreeding  seals 99 

The  completed  estimate  for  animals  of  all  classes 100 

Animals  present,  season  of  1897 100 

Deductions  for  losses 100 

Animals  dead,  season  of  1897 100 

The  value  of  the  estimate 101 

The  true  basis  of  enumeration 101 

CHAPTER         VII. — THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  HERD: 

Russian  management 102 

Gradual  improvement  in  methods 102 

The  equilibrium  of  the  herd 102 

The  beginning  of  decline 102 

The  failure  of  the  quota 103 

The  breeding  herd 103 

The  quota  since  1890 103 

Quota  of  1894-95 103 

The  evidence  of  decline 104 

Abandoned  grounds 104 

Their  extent 104 

Grass-grown  areas 104 

Time  necessary  to  establish  these  areas 105 

Photographs 105 

Between  successive  seasons  inadequate 105 

Their  value  covering  long  periods 105 

Their  record  of  the  abandonment  of  territory 100 

Their  limitations 106 

Their  relations  to  daily  rookery  counts 106 

The  true  value  of  photographs 107 

Townsend's  crosses 107 

Shrinkage  of  breeding  area 107 

Tolstoi  sand  flat,  Ardiguen,  etc 107 

Decrease  of  dead  pups 108 

Dead  pups,  1896-97 108 

Increased  mortality  among  the  cows 108 

The  diminished  quota 108 

The  decline  between  1896  and  1897 109 

Comparative  counts 109 

Actual  counts 109 

Summary  of  percentages 110 

Decrease  in  the  average  si/e  of  harem 110 

The  count  of  cows 110 

The  count  of  pups  an  absolute  measure 110 

Lagoon  rookery Ill 

The  quotas  of  1896  and  1897 Ill 

The  quota  of  1896  fixed Ill 

Tho  quota  of  1897  indefinite Ill 

Killings  for  the  quota,  1896-97 .   112-113 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  11 

CHAPTER         VII. — THK  DECLINE  OF  THE  HERD — Continued.  Page. 
The  evidence  of  decline — Continued. 

The  quota  of  1897  harder  to  get 114 

The  quota  a  direct  measure  of  breeding  herd 114 

The  quota  of  1897  and  the  Paris  regulations 114 

The  total  decline  in  the  herd 114 

CHAPTER       VIII.  —THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  DECLINE: 

Joint  agreement  of  1892 115 

No  competent  natural  cause 115 

Natural  causes  of  mortality  constant 115 

The  real  cause  an  artificial  one 116 

Land  and  sea  killing 116 

A.  Land  killing — its  methods 116 

Animals  killed 116 

Killing  season -.  116 

The  driving 116 

The  drive 117 

The  killing 118 

The  Aleuts 118 

The  skinning  of  the  seals 119 

Division  of  labor 119 

Treatment  of  the  skins 119 

The  effects  of  land  killing 119 

Removal  of  superfluous  male  life  beneficial 120 

Possibility  of  overkilling 120 

A  hypothetical  case 120 

Such  killing  not  practicable 121 

Otter  Island  not  dri  ven 121 

Defective  skins 121 

Overkilling  of  males  has  not  occurred 121 

Statistics  of  the  quota 122 

Land  killing,  1870-97 122 

Voluntary  reduction  of  quota,  1876-77 122 

Voluntary  reduction,  1882-83 122 

No  dearth  of  male  life 122 

Killing  of  males  not  a  factor  in  decline 123 

Premature  killing 123 

Anticipation  of  quota 123 

Table  showing  date  of  filling  quota,  etc 123 

The  killing  of  undersized  seals 1 124 

Such  killing  did  not  affect  the  herd 124 

Premature  killing  wasteful  but  not  injurious  124 

Killing  of  pnps  wasteful 124 

Absence  of  injury  to  the  herd 125 

Methods  on  the  Commander  Islands 125 

Dr.  Stejneger's  observations 125 

The  dearth  of  male  life  on  Bering  Island 125 

CHAPTER         IX. — THE  THEORY  OF  OVERDRIVING: 

Driving  and  its  supposed  results 12(5 

The  process  of  driving 126 

The  animal  driven 127 

The  theory  intangible 127 

Its  logical  conclusion 127 

The  drives  and  driveways 128 


12  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER         IX. — THE  THEORY  OF  OVERDRIVING — Continued.  Page. 

The  Russian  drives 128 

The  drive  from  Northeast  Point 128 

The.  American  drives 128 

The  drives  greatly  shortened 129 

Reef  driveway 129 

The  character  of  the  route 129 

The  length  of  the  drive 130 

Comparison  of  drives 130 

The  Commander  driveways 130 

Zapadni 130 

Palata 131 

No  evil  results  from  these  drives 131 

Care  exercised  in  driving 131 

The  fur  seal  not  ill-adapted  to  land  travel 131 

The  "  carcass-strewn  "  driveways T 132 

Fatalities  on  the  drives 132 

Injuries  to  bachelors  could  not  affect  herd 132 

The  impossibility  of  sexual  injury 133 

Voluntary  movements  of  the,  males 133 

Driving  not  a  factor  in  the  decline 133 

CHAPTER          X. — ALLEGED  POSSIBLE  CHANGE  OF  HABITS: 

Migration  to  Commander  Islands 134 

The  fixity  of  habits 134 

The  seal's  low  intelligence 134 

Contact  with  man  has  had  no  effect 135 

Alteration  of  conditions 135 

The  bachelors  of  Bering  Island 135 

Arbitrary  selection  of  males 136 

The  effect  of  decline 136 

Possibility  of  driving  the  seals  elsewhere 136 

The  abandonment  of  Spilki 137 

The  presence  of  the  village  not  the  cause 137 

Exposed  condition  of  Lagoon  rookery 137 

The  real  cause  of  the  abandonment 137 

Origin  of  Lagoon  and  Spilki 138 

Abandonment  of  Marunichen 138 

Elliott's  theory  for  Sivutch  rookery 138 

Si  vntch  overlooked  in  1872-1874 138 

The  notions  of  the  Aleuts 139 

These  notions  shared  by  Government  agents 139 

The  policy  of  seclusion  detrimental 140 

Intelligent  inspection  not  wanton  invasion 140 

Inspection  not  harmful 140 

Relations  of  man  have  not  affected  the  seals 141 

CHAPTER        XI. — PELAGIC  SEALING,  OR  KILLING  AT  SEA: 

Tho  nature  of  pelagic  sealing 142 

The  hunting  of  the  Indians 142 

Introduction  of  white,  men  and  vessels 142 

The  expansion  of  the  industry 142 

The  use  of  firearms 143 

The  modus  A-ivendi 143 

The  regulations  of  the  Paris  a  ward 1 1:> 

The  sealing  vessels 143 

Methods  of  sealing 144 

The  seals  as  found 144 

Methods  of  capture — the  spear 144 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER         XL— PELAGIC  SEALING,  OR  KILLING  AT  SEA— Continued.  Page. 

The  shooting  of  the  seals 144 

Loss  resulting  from  shooting 145 

The  spear  least  wasteful 145 

Northwest  Coast  sealing 146 

Bering  Sea  sealing 146 

Pelagic  catch 146 

Does  not  include  seals  killed,  but  lost 147 

Early  sealing  confined  to  Pribilof  herd 147 

Suspension  of  land  killing 147 

Modus  vivendi  transferred  sealing  to  Asiatic  side 147 

Decline  of  the  catch 148 

Unfavorable  weather  not  the  cause 148 

Pelagic  killing  and  land  killing  compared 148 

Statistics  regarding  land  and  sea  killing 149 

The  period  from  1871-1882 149 

Growth  of  the  catch 149 

Relation  of  gains  and  losses  in  the  herd 149 

Period  subsequent  to  1882 150 

Expansion  of  pelagic;  decrease  of  laud  sealing 150 

Cause  of  decline  to  be  sought  in  breeding  herd 150 

The  beginning  of  the  decline 151 

Early  pelagic  sealing  a  mere  check 151 

Irregular  quota  since  1890 151 

Pelagic  sealing  and  the  Commander  herd 152 

Interrelation  of  pelagic  and  land  catches 153 

CHATTER       XII. — THE  EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING  : 

Pelagic  sealing  kills  females 153 

Pelagic  sealing  and  the  sealing  of  the  South  Seas 153 

Methods  of  southern  sealing 153 

"Indiscriminate"  not  "excessive'1 154 

The  preponderance  of  females 154 

The  sealing  captains'  record  of  sexes  taken 154 

Customs-house  examination  by  experts 155 

Contrast  of  sex  returns 155 

The  sex  of  salted  skins  easily  determined 155 

Investigations  of  Alexander  and  Halkett 155 

Females  more  easily  taken 156 

The  capture  of  males  not  important 156 

Possibility  of  equilibrium 156 

Equilibrium  a  theoretical  fact 157 

Deatli  from  old  age 157 

A  hypothetical  case 157 

Possible  abstraction  of  females 157 

Secondary  loss  of  pups 158 

Pelagic  catch  still  involves  16  per  cent 158 

Pelagic  catch  must  still  fall  to  one-third  before  equilibrium 158 

The  equilibrium  could  not  be  maintained 159 

Equilibrium  exists  only  far  below  commercial  ruin 159 

Destruction  of  unborn  pups 160 

Females  pregnant  and  nursing • 160 

Pelagic  sealing  takes  compound  interest 160 

Destruction  of  nursing  pups 160 

Pups  dependent  upon  milk  until  December 160 

The  absence  of  excrement 161 

The  supposed  uonfeeding  of  females 161 


14  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER       XII. — THK  EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING — Cou tinned.  Page. 

Absence  of  food  in  stomachs 161 

The  seal  digests  its  food  in  the  water 162 

Absurd  theory  of  indiscriminate  nursing 162 

Fur-seal  mother  and  pup 162 

Mistaken  observations 162 

Supposed  self- feeding  of  pups 163 

The  absurdity  of  the  theory 163 

Determination  of  the  matter  by  killing  pups 163 

Pups  absolutely  dependent  upon  mothers'  milk 164 

CHAPTER     XIII. — THE  STARVATION  OF  PUPS: 

The  count  of  starved  pups 165 

Beginnings  of  starvation 165 

Notes  on  starving  pups 165 

The  hungry  pup 166 

The  breaking  down 166 

The  death  of  the  starveling 166 

Difficulty  of  distinguishing  early  dead  pups 166 

Many  early  dead  pups  disappear 167 

Starving  pups 167 

The  work  of  the  foxes 167 

Dead  pups,  St.  George  Island 167 

Reconstruction  of  St.  George  estimates 168 

The  detailed  estimate 168 

Pup  statistics 169 

The  count  of  starved  pups  in  1897 169 

The  removal  of  the  early  dead 170 

Estimate  of  starved  pups  for  1897 170 

Importance,  of  these  figures 170 

Destructive  eft'ects  of  pelagic  sealing  established 170 

The  cumulative  eft'ect 171 

Total  eft'ect  of  pelagic  sealing 171 

The  effect  since  1883 171 

The  effect  under  the  Paris  regulations 172 

CHAPTER     XIV. — EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING  ON  THE  SEAL  SKIN  INDUSTRY: 

International  interest  in  the  fur  seals 173 

United  States  interests 173 

Russian  interests 174 

The  interest  of  Great  Britain 174 

Canadian  pelagic  sealing  interests '. ,..  174 

Valuation  of  the  fleet 174 

Pelagic  sealing  suicidal 175 

Effect  of  the  declining  catch 175 

Legality  of  pelagic  sealing 175 

Prohibition  to  Americans 176 

Distinctly  a  Canadian  industry 176 

CHAPTER       XV.— THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  PARIS  AWARD: 

A.  The  arbitration 177 

The  origin  of  the  fur  seal  question 177 

The  seizure  of  vessels 177 

Efforts  to  secure  international  action 177 

Proposed  measures  of  protection 177 

Objection  by  Canada 178 

Renewal  of  negotiations 178 

The  counter  proposition  unsatisfactory 178 

Proposals  for  arbitration 178 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER       XV. — THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  PARIS  AWARD— Continued.  Page. 

A.  The  arbitration—  Continued. 

The  modus  vi  vendi 179 

The  joint  commission  of  inquiry 179 

The  tribunal 179 

The  joint  report  of  the  commission 179 

The  American  contention 180 

The  British  contention 180 

Their  comparative  merits 180 

B.  The  regulations 180 

The  minor  provisions 180 

The  sixty-mile  zone 181 

The  close  season 181 

Regulations  adapted  to  work  of  sealers 181 

The  cost  of  enforcing  the  regulations 182 

The  failure  of  the  regulations 182 

The  redeeming  feature  of  the  regulations 182 

The  purpose  of  arbitrators 183 

The  obligation  to  protect  and  preserve 183 

CHAPTER     XVI. — SUMMARY  OF  CONCLUSIONS: 

Statements  of  fact 184-186 

CHAPTER   XVII. — THE  REMEDY  FOR  THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  HERD: 

Revision  of  the  regulations  not  adequate 187 

Pelagic  sealing  can  not  exist  without  the  killing  of  females 187 

Total  prohibition  of  pelagic  sealing  the  only  remedy 187 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  HERD: 

A  reconsideration  of  the  question 188 

A  basis  for  the  reopening  of  the  subject 188 

Findings  of  fact — the  decline 188 

Slow  rate  of  increase  in  the  herd 188 

Males  can  be  killed  with  impunity 189 

Excessive  destruction  of  females 189 

Compromise  findings 189 

The  herd  commercially  ruined 189 

Pelagic  sealing  incompatible  with  preservation 189 

The  skin  of  the  female  to  be  contraband 190 

The  proposed  extermination  by  slaughter  on  the  rookeries 190 

Importance  of  the  fur  seal  herd 190 

A  strong  nucleus  remains 190 

CHAPTER      XIX. — RECOMMENDATIONS  : 

Inadequacy  of  past  knowledge 191 

The  Government  agents  not  investigators 191 

Failure  to  understand  conditions 191 

The  wild-animal  policy 192 

Lack  of  faith  in  our  methods 192 

Wasteful  management 192 

The  two  vital  questions  yet  unknown T. .  192 

The  fixing  of  the  quota 193 

Questions  which  require  continuous  study 193 

A  fixed  quota  not  desirable 194 

The  proportion  of  males  needed 194 

Minor  problems 194 

The  herd  should  be  placed  in  charge  of  a  naturalist 194 

APPENDIX    I. — Statistics 197 

Table  of  killings 197-207 

Summary  of  totals 207 


16  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

APPENDIX      I. — Statistics — Continued.  Page. 

Killings,  Northwest  Point- Zapadni 207 

Total  seals  killed — accepted,  rejected 208-209 

Killings,  1896 209 

Killings,  1897 210 

Statistics  of  laud  and  sea  killing 211 

Daily  counts  of  cows 212 

Comparative  census 213 

Pup  statistics,  1896 213 

Dead  pups,  1897 214 

American  fur-seal  catch,  1894 215 

Canadian  fur-seal  catch,  1894 216 

American  and  Canadiau  catch,  1895 217 

American  and  Canadiau  catch,  1896 219 

American  and  Canadian  catch,  1897 220-221 

Statistics  of  pelagic  catch 222-225 

Percentage  of  females , 225 

Value  of  pelagic  fleet 226 

Cape  Horn  seals 226 

Lobos  seals 226 

APPENDIX    II. — Documents. 

Modus  vivendi 227 

Arbitration  treaty 228-231 

Award  of  the  tribunal 231-234 

The  regulations 234 

Declarations 236 

Alaska  Commercial  Company's  lease 236 

North  American  Commercial  Company's  lease 238 

The  conference  of  fur-seal  experts 240 

Joint  statement  of  conclusions 241 

Furriers'  affidavits  regarding  sex 244 

The  law  prohibiting  sealing  by  Americans 246 

APPENDIX  III. — Illustrations 247 


CHAPTER     I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

THE  OCCASION  OF  THE  INQUIRY. 

The  present  inquiry  iuto  the  condition  and  needs  of  the  fur-seal  herds  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean  and  Bering  Sea  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  belief  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States  that  the  regulations  formulated  by  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  for  "  the 
protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur  seal "  had  failed  to  accomplish  their  avowed 
object.  The  inadequacy  of  these  regulations  was  apparent  at  the  close  of  the  first 
season  of  their  operation,  and  each  succeeding  season  has  only  rendered  it  more 
conspicuous.  Failing  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  Great  Britain  in  the  immediate 
revision  of  the  regulations,  the  United  States  in  the  spring  of  1896  accepted  the 
proposal  of  Great  Britain  for  a  scientific  investigation  of  the  whole  subject,  to  be 
made  independently  by  each  nation,  the  results  of  such  an  investigation  to  form  the 
basis. of  a  reconsideration  of  the  regulations  at  the  end  of  the  specified  trial  period  ot 
five  years. 

THE  ACT  OF  CONGRESS. 

The  act  of  Congress  under  which  the  present  commission  of  investigation  for  the 
United  States  was  organized  is  as  follows : 

Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Ileprexentatii-es  of  the  United  Slates  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  be,  and  is  hereby,  authorized  to  expend,  from  any 
moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated,  a  sum  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  employment 
of  persons  to  conduct  a  scientific  investigation,  during  the  fiscal  years  eighteen  hundred  and 
ninety-six  and  eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-seven,  of  the  present  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herds  on 
the  Pribilof,  Commander,  and  Kuril  islands  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  Bering  Sea,  said  amount 
not  to  exceed  for  both  said  years  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

The  Secretary  is  also  authorized  to  employ  a  stenographer  in  connection  with  this  investigation 
at  a  rate  of  compensation  not  exceeding  one  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  and  to  pay  his 
compensation  and  expenses  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

The  President  is  authorized  to  detail,  for  the  purposes  of  assisting  in  this  investigation,  any 
officer  or  officers  or  employees  of  the  United  States  Government,  their  actual  expenses  and  the 
expenses  of  the  person  or  persons  employed  under  the  preceding  paragraph  to  be  paid  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  out  of  any  moneys  in  the  Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

The  President  may  detail  a  vessel  of  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  this 
investigation. 

THE  COMMISSION. 

In  accordance  with  the  above  act,  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan,  president  of  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  was  appointed  commissioner  in  charge  of  the  investiga- 
tion, and  with  him  were  detailed  as  associates  Lieut.  Commander  Jefferson  F.  Moser, 
commanding  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  steamer  Albatross;  Dr.  Leonhard 

17 
15184 2 


18  THE    FUR    SEALS    OP   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Stejneger,  curator  of  reptiles,  United  States  National  Museum;  Mr.  Frederic  A. 
Lucas,  curator  of  comparative  anatomy,  United  States  National  Museum,  and 
Mr.  Charles  H.  Towusend,  naturalist  of  the  Albatross.  Mr.  George  Archibald  Clark, 
president's  secretary  of  Stanford  University,  was  appointed  secretary  to  the  commis- 
sion, and  Col.  Joseph  Murray,  of  Fort  Collins,  Colo.,  formerly  United  States  Treasury 
agent  at  St.  Paul  Island,  and  reappointed  in  1897  to  the  same  position,  was  made 
special  assistant. 

Great  Britain  named  as  her  commission  of  investigation  Prof.  D'Arcy  Wentworth 
Thompson,  of  University  College,  Dundee,  Scotland;  Mr.  Gerald  E.  H.  Barrett- 
Hamilton,  of  Dublin,  Ireland,  and  Mr.  James  Melville  Macoun,  of  the  Geological 
Survey  of  Canada.  The  Canadian  government  detailed  Mr.  Andrew  Halkett  to 
make  special  investigation  of  the  operations  of  the  pelagic  fleet. 

THE  SCOPE  OF  THE  WORK. 

In  his  letter  of  instructions  to  the  commission,  under  date  of  June  13,  1896,  Hon. 
Charles  Sumner  Hamlin,  then  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  outlined  the 
general  scope  and  purpose  of  the  investigation,  as  follows: 

Your  final  report  will  be  expected  to  relate  more  specifically  to  the  group  of  seals  which  resort 
to  the  Prihilof  Islands,  hut  the  Asiatic  herd  may  he  investigated  to  such  extent  as  seems  advisable 
in  order  to  afford  the  opportunity  for  instituting  comparisons  from  which  important  deductions  may 
he  reached. 

The  principal  object  of  this  investigation  is  to  determine  by  precise  and  detailed  observations, 
first,  the  present  condition  of  the  American  fur-seal  herd;  second,  the  nature  and  imminence  of  the 
causes,  if  any,  which  appear  to  threaten  its  extermination ;  third,  what,  if  any,  benefits  have  been 
secured  to  the  herd  through  the  operation  of  the  act  of  Congress  and  act  of  Parliament  based  upon 
the  award  by  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration ;  fourth,  what,  if  any,  additional  protective  measures 
on  laud  or  at  sea,  or  changes  in  the  present  system  of  regulations  as  to  the  closed  season,  prohibited 
zone,  prohibition  of  firearms,  etc.,  are  required  to  iusure  the  preservation  of  the  fur-seal  herd. 

Your  inquiries  should  furthermore  be  extended,  in  so  far  as  the  time  and  circumstances  permit, 
to  embrace  the  consideration  of  all  important  questions  relating  to  the  natural  history  of  the  seals, 
both  at  sea  and  on  the  islands,  with  special  reference  to  their  bearing  upon  the  sealing  industry. 

To  this  general  plan  of  inquiry  was  appended  the  following  list  of  specific 
questions : 

1.  The  effect  of  pelagic  sealing  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  Bering  Sea  upon  the  fur-seal 
herd,  due  account  being  taken  of  the  classes  of  seals  killed. 

2.  What  effect,  if  any,  has  the  annual  removal  of  bachelor  seals,  Avhich  lias  taken  place  on  the 
Pribilof  Islands,  had  upon  the  fur-seal  herd  ? 

The  solution  of  these  two  questions  involves  a  study  of  the  entire  subject  of  the  regulations  of 
the  two  sexes  and  the  proportion  of  the  male  seals  required  to  be  preserved  in  order  to  maintain  the 
stability  of  the  herd. 

3.  Whether  killing  on  land  or  sea  has  interfered  with  the  regular  habits  and  occupation  of  the 
islands  by  the  herd,  or  has  operated  to  reduce  the  strength  of  the  seal  race  as  a  whole  by  a  natural 
selection. 

4.  The  propriety  of  existing  methods  of  driving  seals  from  the  hauling  grounds  to  the  killing 
grounds,  culling,  and  other  practices  connected  therewith. 

5.  The  cause  of  the  destruction  of  nursing  pups  upon  the  islands. 

During  the  seasons  of  1894  and  1895  about  20,000  and  30,000  dead  pups,  respectively,  were  found 
upon  the  islands.  You  should  specially  consider  the  causes  of  their  death,  whether  from  starvation 
or  other  cause,  preserving  specimens  whenever  practicable. 

fi.  The  extent,  date,  and  cause  of  mortality  on  the  islands  of  seals  of  all  classes. 


SUBJECTS    FOR    INVESTIGATION.  19 

7.  The  breeding  habits  of  the  seals,  with  special  reference  to  the  age  at  which  the  females  begin 
or  cease  to  breed,  and  the  frequency  of  the  breeding,  whether  annually  or  at  longer  intervals. 

8.  The  condition  of  female  seals  taken  at  sea,  as  to  nursing  and  pregnancy. 

9.  The  distance  which  the  seA'eral  classes  of  seals  go  from  the  islands  and  the  directions  which 
they  take  in  search  of  food  or  rest  at  different  times  during  the  season. 

10.  The  actual  decrease,  if  any,  in  the  number  of  seals  in  each  class  011  the  Pribilof  Islands 
which  has  occurred  during  the  past  year,  and  also  since  the  year  1890,  and  since  the  year  1870.    A 
careful  census  of  the  rookeries  should  be  taken  this  season  for  comparison  with  the  enumeration 
made  in  1895  and  previous  years. 

11.  An  examination  of  the  question  as  to  the  character  of  the  food  of  fur  seals. 

12.  Whether  the  Pribilof  Island  herd  of  fur  seals  intermingle  with  the  Asiatic  herds  of  the 
Commander  or  Kuril  islands. 

13.  Whether  nursing  seals  nurse  other  than  their  own  pups  on  the  islands. 

THE    INVESTIGATIONS. 

Acting  under  these  instructions  the  commission  of  investigation  have  made  a 
detailed  inspection  and  study  of  the  habits,  condition,  and  needs  of  the  Pribilof 
Islands  herd,  with  a  comprehensive  and  almost  equally  exhaustive  study  of  the  herds 
of  the  Commander  and  Kuril  islands.  The  main  results  of  our  investigations  for  the 
season  of  1896  have  already  been  published  by  the  Treasury  Department  in  the  form 
of  a  preliminary  report.* 

The  work  during  the  season  of  1896  was  sufficient  to  prove  the  depleted  condition 
of  the  herd  and  to  point  out  the  cause  of  its  threatened  destruction.  It,  however, 
showed  clearly  that  all  preceding  calculations  as  to  the  number  of  seals  resorting  to 
the  Pribilof  Islands  were  useless  for  purposes  of  comparison,  being  grossly  exaggerated 
in  the  early  years  of  American  control,  and  as  largely  underestimated  in  the  later  years 
through  a  misapprehension  of  the  actual  conditions  of  rookery  life.  It  therefore 
became  impossible  to  form  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  relative  conditions  of  "the 
breeding  herd  or  of  the  rate  of  its  decline.  The  work  of  investigation  was  therefore 
continued  during  the  season  of  1897,  and  its  supplemental  results  have  been  embodied 
in  condensed  form  in  a  second  preliminary  report!  which  has  recently  been  published 
by  the  Treasury  Department.  It  now  remains  for  us  to  bring  into  the  shape  of  a 
final  report  the  completed  results  of  our  labors.  In  accordance  with  the  broad  scope 
of  our  instructions  we  have  endeavored,  so  far  as  opportunity  afforded,  to  consider 
"all  important  questions  relating  to  the  natural  history  of  the  seals,  both  at  sea  and 
on  the  islands,"  and  the  work  has  therefore  become  very  voluminous. 

THE    REPORT. 

This  report  naturally  falls  into  four  parts  or  divisions.  In  Part  I  the  main 
phases  of  the  fur-seal  controversy  have  been  taken  up  and  discussed  at  length,  such 
historical  matters  as  seem  necessary  for  a  clear  understanding  of  the  matter  being 
added.  In  this  general  discussion  the  results  of  more  detailed  studies  on  special 
topics,  which  appear  in  Part  III,  are  freely  used  and  the  original  studies  referred  to 
for  more  complete  information.  Part  I,  therefore,  becomes  a  complete  report  in  itself 
of  the  investigation  so  far  as  the  general  condition,  needs,  and  possibilities  of  the 
Pribilof  Islands  herd  of  fur  seal  are  concerned. 


1  Observations  on  the  Fur  Seals  of  the  Pribilof  Islands,  Jordan,  1896. 

t  Second  Preliminary  Report  of  the  Bering  Sea  Fur-Seal  Investigations,  Jordan,  1897. 


20  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PR1BILOF    ISLANDS. 

In  Part  II  is  given  the  minute  and  detailed  journal  cHt'  daily  observations  of  the 
members  of  the  commission.  This  record,  being  the  chief  basis  for  the  conclusions 
in  the  general  report,  becomes  a  most  important  part  of  the  work.  To  it  is  appended 
an  abstract  of  the  record  in  the  log  of  St.  Paul  Island  for  the  past  twenty-seven 
years,  in  so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  life  history,  and  habits  of  the  seals. 

The  third  division  of  the  report  contains  the  series  of  special  papers  and  reports, 
already  referred  to,  which  deal  with  various  phases  of  the  life  history,  movements  and 
the  surroundings  of  the  seals,  and  which  have  been  prepared  by  different  members 
of  the  commission  and  by  various  specialists.  These  take  up  in  minute  detail  such 
phases  of  the  subject  as  have  important  bearing  on  tbe  fur  seal  question. 

In  Part  IV  are  included  the  reports  for  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  by  Dr. 
Stejueger  on  the  Commander  and  Kuril  islands,  which  form  a  continuation  of  his 
more  extended  investigations  in  the  season  of  1895,  the  results  of  which  have  already 
been  published.*  To  the  reports  on  the  Comrn;mder  herd  such  reference  as  has  been 
necessary  to  throw  light  upon  the  condition  of  the  Pribilof  herd  have  been  made  in 
the  general  discussion. 

ITINERARY,  1896. 

The  United  States  Fish  Commission  steamer  Albatross,  with  the  American  com- 
mission and  Professor  Thompson  and  Mr.  Macoun,  of  the  British  commission,  left 
Seattle  on  the  morning  of  June  24,  arriving  at  St.  George  Island,  Bering  Sea,  on  the 
afternoon  of  July  8.  July  9,  10,  and  11  were  spent  in  and  about  this  island  making 
general  observations,  photographing  the  rookeries,  and  counting  the  breeding  seals. 
The  time  between  July  12  and  18  was  occupied  in  similar  work  on  St.  Paul  Island. 

July  18  the  Albatross  steamed  for  Unalaska,  leaving  Mr.  Towuseud  there  and 
taking  Dr.  Stejueger  to  the  Commander  Islands.  July  30  to  August  9  were  spent 
about  these  islands,  August  22  to  26  about  the  Kurils,  and  August  28  to  September  2 
about  Kobben  Island,  reaching  Hakodate,  Japan,  September  10. 

On  July  28  Mr.  Lucas,  Professor  Thompson,  and  Colonel  Murray  visited  St.  George 
Island,  the  first  two  returning  to  St.  Paul  on  August  5.  Mr.  Townsend  returned  from 
Unalaska  August  8,  and  he  and  Mr.  Lucas  spent  the  time  until  the  12th  at  sea,  on 
board  the  Rush,  boarding  vessels  of  the  sealing  fleet. 

August  8  to  14,  inclusive,  was  occupied  in  counting  dead  pups  on  St.  Paul. 
A  similar  count  was  made  by  Mr.  Lucas  and  Mr.  Macoun  August  16  to  21  on  St. 
George. 

On  August  16  Professor  Thompson  and  Dr.  Jordan  left  St.  Paul  Island  in  H.  M.  S. 
Satellite  for  the  Commander  Islands,  spending  August  24  and  25  on  the  rookeries  of 
these  islands  and  returning  to  St.  Paul  on  September  1,  bringing  with  them  Mr. 
Barrett-Hamilton,  another  member  of  the  British  commission. 

Mr.  Townsend  left  St.  Paul  on  the  company's  steamer  Homer  for  San  Francisco 
August  23.  Colonel  Murray  returned  from  St.  George  September  1  and  on  the  fol- 
lowing day  made  experiments  in  branding  pups  on  Lukauin  rookery.  Messrs.  Lucas 
and  Bsirrett- Hamilton  spent  September  2  to  5  at  sea  on  the  Rush,  among  the  pelagic 
Dealers. 


'The  Russian  Fur  Seal  Islands,  Stejueger;  Bull.  U.  S.  Fish  Coin.,  1896. 


ITINERARY.  21 

On  September  8  Dr.  Jordan,  Professor  Thompson,  and  Mr.  Lucas  sailed  with  the 
Rusk  for  Sitka  and  thence  to  Seattle,  Messrs.  Clark,  Macouu,  Bairett-Hamilton,  and 
Colonel  Murray  remaining-  on  St.  Paul. 

On  September  11  further  experiments  in  branding-  were  made.  The  starved  and 
starving1  pups  on  St.  Paul  were  counted  September  28  to  October  1.  A  similar  count 
was  made  on  St.  George  October  C.  On  October  7  Messrs.  Clark  and  Macoun  returned 
to  St.  Paul,  Mr.  Barrett-Hamilton  remained  on  St.  George,  and  Colonel  Murray  went 
to  Unalaska.  On  October  22  the  remaining1  commissioners  left  the  islands  on  the 
Bear  and  arrived  in  Port  Towusend  November  3. 

ITINERARY,  1897. 

May  22. — Mr.  Clark  sailed  from  San  Francisco  on  the  North  American  Company's 
steamer  Del  Norte  May  22.  Mr.  Bristow  Adams  accompanied  him  as  artist  assistant 
to  the  commission.  Col.  Joseph  Murray,  chief  agent,  Mr.  John  M.  Morton,  assistant 
agent,  and  Mr.  James  M.  Macoun,  Canadian  commissioner,  were  also  passengers  on 
the  vessel.  The  Del  Norte  arrived  at  Wood  Island,  Kadiak,  May  31,  and  at  Dutch 
Harbor,  Unalaska,  on  the  morning  of  June  4. 

June  7. — The  Del  Norte  arrived  at  St.  George  Island,  remaining  at  anchor  dis- 
charging cargo  until  the  evening  of  the  llth,  during  which  time  all  the  rookeries  of 
St.  George  were  visited  and  daily  visits  were  made  to  North  rookery,  near  the  village. 

June  12. — On  the  morning  of  June  12  Mr.  Clark  was  landed  on  St.  Paul  Island 
and  began  daily  observation  of  the  breeding  rookeries. 

July  1. — Mr.  Lucas  arrived  on  the  Rush  at  St.  Paul  July  1,  Dr.  Stejneger,  who 
accompanied  him  to  Unalaska,  having  sailed  direct  from  that  port  for  the  Commander 
Islands  on  board  the  Grant. 

July  7. — Dr.  Stejueger  was  landed  by  the  Grant  on  Bering  Island. 

July  9. — Mr.  Lucas  examined  the  rookeries  of  St.  George  Island.  Mr.  Chichester 
accompanied  him  and  photographed  the  rookeries  for  the  United  States  Fish  Com- 
mission. 

July  12. — The  counting  of  the  cows  was  begun  on  the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  and 
the  series  of  photographs  for  the  United  States  Fish  Commission  made. 

July  25. — Dr.  Jordan  arrived  at  St.  George  Island  and,  after  visiting  the  rookeries 
there,  was  landed  on  St.  Paul  July  28. 

July  30. — The  count  of  live  pups  was  begun  on  the  test  rookeries.  Kitovi  was 
counted  by  Messrs.  Clark  and  Macoun  on  August  2.  This  was  followed  by  a  count  of 
dead  pups  on  the  "death  traps"  of  Zapadni  and  Tolstoi. 

August  5. — Professor  Thompson  arrived  at  St.  Paul  on  H.  M.  S.  Rainbow  from  the 
Commander  Islands. 

August  8. — Mr.  Macoun  left  St.  Paul  on  II.  M.  S.  Pheasant. 

August  11. — Dr.  Jordan  and  Mr.  Clark  left  St.  Paul  Island  on  the  revenue-cutter 
Rush,  arriving  at  Seattle  in  the  evening  of  the  21st. 

August  15. — Dr.  Stejneger  was  transferred  from  Bering  Island  to  Copper  Island 
on  the  Eussian  cruiser  Koreets. 

August  16. — Professor  Thompson  left  the  Pribilof  Islands  on  H.  M.  S.  Amphion. 

August  18. — Mr.  Lucas  left  St.  Paul  on  the  Del  Norte,  arriving  in  San  Francisco 
August  31. 


22  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

August  31. — Dr.  Stejneger  returned  to  Bering  Island  by  the  Eussiau  cruiser 
Yakut,  leaving  immediately  for  Petropaulski,  where  lie  arrived  on  September  4. 

September  2. — Seals  were  driven  from  Reef,  Lukanin,  and  Middle  Hill  and  retained 
in  the  Lagoon  inclosure  until  the  9th. 

September  9. — Beginning  with  this  date  Colonel  Murray,  on  St.  Paul,  and  Mr. 
Judge,  on  St.  George,  branded  fur-seal  pups. 

September  11. — Mr.  Farmer  and  assistants  in  the  work  of  electrical  branding  left 
St.  Paul  Island  on  board  the  revenue-cutter  Perry. 

September  27. — Dr.  Stejneger  made  a  final  visit  to  Bering  Island  to  investigate 
the  starvation  of  pups,  returning  to  Petropaulski  on  October  20,  sailing  thence  home- 
ward by  way  of  Japan. 

October  15. — Colonel  Murray  made  a  final  counting  of  starved  pups  on  Lukanin 
and  Kitovi  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  Island. 

A  more  minute  daily  record  of  investigations  will  be  found  in  connection  with  the 
journal  of  daily  observations  kept  by  the  commission,  and  which  appears  in  full 
elsewhere  in  this  report. 


CHAPTER    II. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 

DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION. 

The  early  discoveries  and  explorations  in  and  about  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea 
followed  as  a  result  of  the  occupation  of  the  eastern  coast  of  Siberia  by  the  Eussians 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  organized  efforts  to  explore  the 
unknown  seas  beyond  were  begun  in  the  reign  of  Peter  the  Great  and  were  completed 
after  his  death  by  his  successor,  the  Empress  Catherine. 

The  first  important  expedition  sailed  in  two  vessels  from  Kamchatka  in  1728  under 
charge  of  Vitus  Bering.  One  vessel  discovered  St.  Lawrence  Island  and  sailed  through 
the  straits  to  the  north;  the  other  reached  the  continent  of  North  America  near  the 
mouth  of  the  River  Yukon. 

BERING'S  SECOND  VOYAGE. 

Thirteen  years  afterwards  Bering  set  out  with  a  second  expedition  which  reached 
America  at  Kayak  Island,  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  Upon  the  homeward 
voyage  the  Commander  Islands  were  discovered,  and  the  ship  on  which  Bering  sailed 
was  wrecked  on  the  island  now  called  Bering.  Here  Bering  died,  and,  after  wintering, 
such  of  the  crew  as  survived  made  their  way  to  Kamchatka  in  the  spring  under  the 
direction  of  the  famous  naturalist,  Georg  Wilhelm  Steller. 

DISCOVERY  OF  COMMANDER  AND  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

This  second  voyage  in  1741,  making  known  the  valuable  fur  resources  of  the 
Commander  Islands,  stimulated  the  fur  trade  and  led  to  many  expeditions  among 
the  islands  of  the  Aleutian  chain  in  search  of  other  regions  inhabited  by  fur  seals. 
During  these  voyages  the  herd  of  seals  now  known  to  resort  to  the  Pribilof  Islands 
were  encountered  on  their  migrations  through  the  passes  of  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
jmd  efforts  were  made  to  ascertain  the  shore  to  which  they  belonged.  They  were 
followed  to  the  northward  and  to  the  southward  for  this  purpose,  but  without  result 
until,  in  1786,  Gerassim  Pribilof,  a  navigator  in  the  employ  of  one  of  the  Eussian 
trading  companies,  finally  succeeded  in  finding  the  group  of  islands  which  now  bear 
his  name  and  are  the  home  of  the  American  fur  seals.  The  island  of  St.  George,  so 
called  from  the  name  of  his  vessel,  was  the  first  land  found.  In  the  following  year 
St.  Paul  Island  was  discovered. 

THE  RUSSIAN-AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

Immediately  upon  the  discovery  of  the  Commander  Islands  in  1741,  and  later  upon 
the  discovery  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  in  1786,  numerous  trading  companies  began  to 
develop  their  lucrative  fur  resources.  The  rivalry  and  competition  which  naturally 
arose  nearly  resulted  in  the  destruction  of  the  fur-seal  herds.  To  prevent  this,  the 
entire  fur  trade  of  the  Eussian  colonies  passed  into  the  control  of  a  single  powerful 

23 


24  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

organization,  the  Russian- American  Company.  This  company  was  created  in  the  year 
1799,  by  decree  of  the  Imperial  Government,  and  was  vested  for  a  period  of  twenty 
years  with  exclusive  privileges  to  trade  along  the  shores  of  northwestern  America, 
between  latitude  55°  north  and  Bering  Strait,  on  the  Aleutian  and  Kuril  Islands,  and 
the  islands  of  the  Northeastern  or  Bering  Sea. 

ITS  ORGANIZATION. 

The  company's  chief  place  of  business  was  originally  at  Irkutsk,  but  was  after- 
wards transferred  to  St.  Petersburg.  Its  shareholders,  exclusively  Russians,  numbered 
members  of  the  Imperial  family  and  the  high  nobility.  For  purposes  of  administration 
the  Imperial  Government  and  the  directors  of  the  company  jointly  appointed  a  chief 
manager,  who  resided  at  Sitka,  in  Alaska,  then  called  New  Archangel.  The  powers 
of  this  manager  were  absolute  within  the  territory  over  which  the  company  exercised 
jurisdiction.  Under  him  were  submanagers,  overseers,  and  other  agents.  Reports 
of  the  company's  affairs  were  required  to  be  submitted  to  the  Imperial  Government. 
Under  its  charter  the  Russian-American  Company  paid  no  royalty  or  rental  to  the 
Government,  but  as  its  trade  consisted  chiefly  in  the  exchange  of  furs  for  teas  on  the 
Chinese  frontier,  the  Government  received  indirectly  large  sums  through  the  resulting 
duties. 

THE  UKASE  OF  1821. 

On  the  4th  of  September,  1821,  the  Emperor  Alexander  I  issued  an  edict  known 
as  the  ukase  of  1821,  which  provided  for  a  set  of  rules  and  regulations  controlling  the 
boundaries  of  navigation  and  trade  on  the  coasts  and  waters  over  which  the  Russian- 
American  Company  exercised  jurisdiction.  These  regulations  provided  for  the 
prohibition  of  all  foreign  vessels  from  landing  on  or  approaching  within  100  Italian 
miles  of  the  coasts  and  islands  belonging  to  Russia.*  Shortly  after  the  issuance  of  this 
decree  the  Emperor  renewed  for  an  additional  term  of  twenty  years  the  charter  of 
rights  and  privileges  of  the  Russian-American  Company. 

The  ukase  of  1821  involved  Russia  in  a  controversy,  on  the  one  hand  with  the 
United  States  and  on  the  other  hand  with  Great  Britain,  which  resulted  in  the  treaties 
ot  1824  and  1825,  the  former  between  the  United  States  and  Russia  and  the  latter 
between  Great  Britain  and  Russia.  These  treaties  left  undisturbed  the  right  of  strict 
control  claimed  by  Russia  "  over  all  interior  waters  and  over  all  waters  inclosed  by 
Russian  territory,  such  as  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk,  Bering  Sea  or  the  Sea  of  Kamchatka, 
as  well  as  all  gulfs,  bays,  and  estuaries."  t 

THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  CHARTERS. 

The  second  charter  of  the  Russian-American  Company  was  revised  in  1829  to 
conform  to  the  treaties  of  1824-25  and  its  provisions  reconfirmed.  In  1842  it  was 
again  renewed  for  a  period  of  twenty  years,  with  all  its  exclusive  franchises  and 
privileges.  This  third  charter  expired  in  1862  and  was  not  renewed.  The  company, 
however,  continued  to  operate  under  it,  pending  a  decision  of  the  question  of  renewal. 
But  before  a  decision  was  reached  the  territory  of  Alaska  was  transferred  to  the 
United  States  by  the  treaty  of  1867. 

*  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fnr  Seal  Arb.,  p.  16  flf. 

t  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  10,  p.  63. 


HISTORY    OF    THE    FUR    SEAL    ISLANDS.  25 

THE  COMPANY'S  MANAGEMENT. 

At  once  upon  assuming  control  of  the  islands  the  Russian  American  Company 
pat  a  stop  to  tue  ruthless  slaughter  which  threatened  the  fur-seal  herds  with  destruc- 
tion. They,  however,  attempted  to  limit  the  extent  rather  than  to  reform  the  charac- 
ter of  the  slaughter.  They  still  continued  to  kill  males  and  females  alike.  The  injury 
to  the  herd  naturally  continued,  and  in  1806  and  1807  it  was  found  necessary  to 
suspend  killing  in  order  to  give  the  herd  an  opportunity  to  recuperate.  In  1808  killing 
was  resumed,  but  still  without  proper  regard  for  the  conditions  of  seal  life.* 

INJURIOUS  METHODS. 

Gradually,  however,  the  habits  and  interests  of  the  herd  began  to  be  better  known 
and  cared  for.  In  1820,  Yauovsky,  an  agent  «f  the  Imperial  Government,  after  an 
inspection  of  the  fur  seal  rookeries,  called  attention  to  the  practice  of  killing  the 
young  animals,  leaving  only  the  adults  as  breeders.  He  writes :  "If  any  of  the  young 
breeders  are  not  killed  by  the  autumn  they  are  sure  to  be  killed  in  the  following 
spring. "t  From  this  course  of  action  he  concludes  that  the  industry  decreases  every 
year  in  volume,  and  may  in  the  course  of  time  be  extinguished  entirely.  Probably  as 
a  result  of  this,  in  1822,  as  Veniaminof  tells  us,  provision  was  made  for  the  reservation 
of  young  seals  for  breeding  purposes.  This  provision  was  hardly  sufficient,  however, 
to  accomplish  the  desired  end  so  long  as  females  of  any  age  were  killed.  As  a  natural 
result,  another  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  herd  was  reached  in  1834.  But  it  is  not  clear 
whether  this  was  due  entirely  to  indiscriminate  slaughter  or  to  the  combination  of 
this  with  disaster  resulting  from  the  continuance  of  the  ice  floes  about  the  islands  far 
into  the  summer,  preventing  the  cows  from  lauding  to  give  birth  to  their  young  and 
grinding  them  to  pieces  in  the  ice  itself.  This  latter  possibility  exists  as  a  tradition 
among  the  Aleuts,  though  in  their  minds  it  may  have  been  confused  with  a  subse- 
quent catastrophe  of  a  similar  character  recorded  by  the  manager  of  St.  Paul  Island 
in  1859.|  *n  aiiy  event,  it  seems  very  clearly  established  that  in  the  year  1834  the 
herd  was  in  a  most  precarious  condition.  The  natives  were  not  even  allowed  to  take 
seals  for  food,  and  for  a  time  all  killing  was  suspended. 

PROTECTION  OF  THE  FEMALES. 

At  this  time  it  seems  to  have  become  fully  understood  that  if  the  herd  was  to 
continue  its  females  must  be  protected.§  Accordingly  from  this  time  on  the  taking  of 
seals  was  limited  strictly  to  the  males.  But  the  managers  of  the  fur-seal  herds  had 
still  something  to  learn.  The  requirements  of  the  Chinese  market  were  the  only  guide 
to  the  class  of  skins  desired,  and  as  all  sizes  were  taken  the  killing  of  males  included  all 
ages  from  old  bulls  down  to  the  gray  pups.  Gradually  this  wasteful  killing  stopped. 
The  bulls  were  no  longer  taken  and  the  killing  of  gray  pups  was  limited  to  such  as 
were  needed  for  food  and  oil.  || 

*  Veniaminof,  Trans.  Elliott,  Monograph,  Fur  Seal  Isds.,  1881,  p.  140. 
t  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  6,  p.  58. 

I  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  29,  p.  87.     The  dire  results  here  predicted 
seem  not  to  have  been  felt  by  the  herd. 

§  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  23,  p.  82. 

II  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fnr  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  24,  p.  82. 


26  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  HERD  AT  THE  CLOSE  OF  RUSSIAN  CONTROL. 

Under  these  gradually  perfected  methods  of  operation  the  herd  seems  to  have 
prospered  and  increased  so  that  in  the  year  1864,  as  we  learn  from  the  instructions* 
to  the  agents  of  the  liussian  American  Company  on  the  islands  it  was  considered 
possible  to  take  annually  70,000  seals  on  St.  Paul  Island  alone.  The  number  for 
St.  George  Island  is  not  given.  This  in  brief  is  the  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  as  it 
came  into  the  possessioufof  the  United  States.  In  definite  facts  and  data  there  is  but 
little;  but  it  may  be  taken  for  granted  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events  that  the  herd 
was  in  a  condition  of  normal  increase. 

THE   INTERREGNUM. 

The  year  18G8,  or  the  season  following  the  transfer  of  Alaska  from  Russian  to 
American  control,  is  generally  known  as  the  "interregnum."  It  was  impossible 
immediately  to  provide  an  administrative  system  for  the  Territory,  and  a  period  of 
lawlessness  reigned  on  the  islands.  The  state  of  affairs  is  thus  described  by  Prof. 
William  H.  Dall,t  who  visited  the  islands  during  the  year: 

PROFESSOR   BALL'S   NOTES. 

During  my  visit  to  St.  George  Island  in  1868,  this  vast  territory  of  Alaska  had  just  fallen  into 
the  possession  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Government  had  not  yet  fairly  established  more  than  a 
beginning  of  an  organization  for  its  management  as  a  whole,  without  mentioning  such  details  as  the 
Pribilof  Islands.  In  consequence  of  this  state  of  affairs  private  enterprise,  in  the  form  of  companies 
dealing  in  furs,  had  established  numerous  sealing  stations  on  the  islands.  During  my  stay,  except  on 
a  single  occasion,  the  driving  from  the  hauling  grounds,  the  killing,  and  skinning  was  done  by  the 
natives  in  the  same  manner  as  when  under  the  Russian  rule,  each  competing  party  paying  them  so 
much  per  skin  for  their  labor  in  taking  them.  Despite  the  very  bitter  and  more  or  less  unscrupulous 
competition  among  the  various  parties,  all  recognized  the  importance  of  preserving  the  industry  and 
protecting  the  breeding  grounds  from  molestation,  and  for  the  most  part  were  guided  by  this 
conviction. 

THE   NUMBER   OF   SEALS   KILLED. 

During  this  year  a  very  great  number  of  seals  were  killed  on  the  islands.  Estimates 
vary,  but  it  is  evident  that  the  number  amounted  to  not  far  from  300,000.  As  this 
subject  has  been  frequently  referred  to  and  strenuous  efforts  made  to  connect  the 
heavy  killing  of  this  year  with  the  subsequent  decline  of  the  herd,  we  feel  justified 
in  quoting  here  at  length  the  statement  of  Mr.  Osborne  Howes,  now  editor  of  the 
Boston  Herald,  who  spent  the  summer  of  1868  on  St.  George  Island  as  agent  of  one 
of  the  companies.  He  says  : 

MR.  HOWES'S   NOTES. 

I  left  San  Francisco  early  in  March  on  board  a  schooner  cleared  by  Messrs.  Parrott  &  Co.,  of 
that  city,  for  a  trading  voyage  in  Bering  Sea  and  the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  Our  schooner  put  into 
Sitka  on  the  way  up  and  took  on  board  a  number  of  natives,  sailing  from  Sitka  to  the  Slmmagm 
Islands  and  thence  into  Bering  Sea.  It  was  the  first  vessel  to  reach  the  island,  arriving  at  St.  George 
in  the  latter  part  of  April.  I  was  landed  with  the  goods,  and  the  schooner  continued  her  voyage 
toward  the  coast  of  Kamchatka.  I  immediately  secured  possession  of  the  salt  house  and  the  services 
of  the  natives  for  the  season. 

*  Appendix  to  case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  31,  p.  89. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  vol.  2,  p.  132. 


METHODS    OF    TAKING    FUR    SEALS.  27 

THE    TRADING    COMPANIES. 

In  a  few  days  a  schooner  representing  the  firm  of  Hutchinson,  Kohl  &  Co.  also  landed  repre- 
sentatives on  St.  George  Island.  Not  long  after  the  arrival  of  this  second  schooner  a  third,  in  the 
interest  of  the  firm  of  Williams  &  Haven,  landed  men  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  island,  at  Zapadni 
rookery.  This  firm  had  headquarters  on  St.  Paul  Island.  It  was  impossible  for  these  separate 
interests  to  carry  on  their  operations  independently,  and  they  therefore  placed  their  business  under 
my  charge.  Drives  were  made  alternately  for  the  different  companies  and  the  natives  employed 
in  turn. 

Before  the  season  was  well  under  way  a  fourth  expedition  was  landed  on  the  south  side  of  the 
island  across  the  point  from  East  rookery.  There  were  three  men  in  the  party,  and  they  set  about 
killing  the  seals  on  the  rookery  without  driving  them.  The  natives  objected  to  this  because  it  involved 
the  killing  of  females.  The  men  were  remonstrated  with,  but  were  obdurate.  One  was  bribed  off  by 
the  promise  of  double  wages,  but  the  other  two  continued  their  work.  They  were  finally  taken 
prisoners  and  sent  off  to  Sitka  by  the  first  schooner  that  touched  at  the  island.  With  them  were 
returned  the  men  brought  from  Sitka,  who  were  found  to  be  unsuited  for  the  work.  When  the 
captain  of  the  schooner  whose  men  were  interfered  with  arrived  in  the  fall  for  his  cargo  of  skins  he 
was  pacified  by  being  allowed  to  take  the  results  of  one  big  drive  made  by  the  natives  for  his  benefit- 

THE  WORK  OF  SEALING. 

The  work  of  sealing  was  carried  out  by  the  natives  under  the  direction  of  their  chief.  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  different  companies  did  not  concern  themselves  with  the  work  of  driving  or  killing. 
They  simply  paid  the  natives  so  much  per  skin — 30  to  35  cents — payment  being  made  iu  trade  goods. 
The  natives  evidently  followed  the  traditions  of  earlier  days  in  their  work.  They  seemed  very  jealous 
and  careful  of  the  seals,  avoiding  any  disturbance  of  the  breeding  grounds.  Their  objection  to  the 
methods  of  killing  on  East  rookery  was  based  upon  the  ground  that  if  the  females  were  killed  there 
would  be  no  seals  in  the  years  to  come.  It  is  my  belief  that  not  a  single  female  was  killed  on  St. 
George  Island  during  the  season,  except  by  the  three  men  above  mentioned.  Occasionally  a  female 
was  included  in  the  drive,  but  it  was  quickly  detected  by  the  natives  and  released. 

Most  of  the  seals  killed  were  taken  from  North  rookery  and  Zapadni.  No  drives  were  made  from 
Stafaya  Artel.  Only  occasional  drives  were  made  from  East  rookery.  All  the  animals  were  killed  on 
the  ground  below  the  village. 

METHODS  OF  DRIVING. 

The  method  of  driving  was  to  gather  up  the  pods  of  bachelors  from  the  different  hauling  grounds 
and  drive  them  back  from  the  rookeries,  dividing  them  into  pods  of  150  to  250,  and  bringing  them 
thus  into  the  village.  As  the  pods  were  being  formed  and  driven  in,  the  small  and  large  seals 
unsuited  for  killing  were  worked  out  and  released.  Each  man  knocked  down  his  own  allowance  of 
seals  and  skinned  them  afterwards.  Sixty  was  considered  the  usual  day's  work  for  a  man.  Practi- 
cally all  the  seals  driven  up  were  killed.  Not  more  than  one  seal  in  ten  was  rejected.  The  rule  of  the 
companies  was  that  skins  too  small,  too  large,  or  cut  would  not  be  accepted  or  paid  for.  The 
sealers  were  therefore  very  careful  in  the  work.  A  day's  killing  averaged  from  800  to  1,800.  There 
were  about  thirty  available  men  among  the  natives. 

Of  the  conditions  on  St.  Paul  I  heard  only  indirectly  through  the  representatives  of  Williams 
&  Haven,  who  in  their  work  were  evidently  directed  by  instructions  from  the  head  station  on  St. 
Paul,  where  the  same  methods  were  probably  employed.  The  Williams  &  Haven  and  Hutchinson, 
Kohl  &  Co.'s  interests  were  supreme  on  St.  Paul  Island,  and  they  divided  the  rookeries  between  them. 

To  the  best  of  my  recollection  115,000  were  taken  on  St.  George  and  250,000  on  St.  Paul  during 
the  season.  Prior  to  this  season  it  was  understood  that  for  several  years  no  seals  had  been  killed.  In 
1869  no  skins  were  taken,  except  a  few  from  seals  killed  for  food  for  the  natives.  The  privilege  of 
taking  these  skins  was  given  to  Hutchinson,  Kohl  &  Co.,  who,  owning  the  principal  salt  houses  and 
stores  on  the  islands,  were  allowed  to  visit  them  to  care  for  their  property.  Parrott  &  Co.  sent  a 
schooner  to  St.  George  to  take  off  the  skins  which  had  been  left  over,  but  they  took  no  new  skins. 

RUSSIAN  METHODS. 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Howes,  corroborating  the  evidence  of  Professor  Dall,  is 
valuable  for  a  double  purpose.  It  gives  us  an  idea  of  the  final  methods  of  handling 


28  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

the  seals  which  the  Russians  had  evolved.  It  is  evident  that  in  these  operations  of 
1808  the  natives  were  carrying  out  rules  and  methods  which  had  become  traditional 
with  them.  One  of  these  rules,  as  we  learn  from  instructions  to  the  officer  in  charge 
of  the  islands  in  the  year  1853,  was  the  strict  protection  of  females.* 

THE  KILLING  NOT  INDISCRIMINATE. 

We  are  also  justified  in  assuming  that  the  killing  as  practiced  in  1868  did  not  in 
any  way  injure  the  herd,  being  confined  as  heretofore  to  the  killing  of  the  bachelors. 
That  so  large  a  number  were  killed  is  in  part  accounted  for  by  reduction  in  killing 
in  the  years  immediately  prior  to  the  transfer  of  the  islands  to  the  United  States.  A 
surplus  of  the  larger  animals  thus  saved  remained  to  be  gathered  in.  It  is  further 
evident  that  the  killing  extended  down  to  the  younger  seals,  doubtless  including  all 
or  most  of  the  two-year-olds.  This  latter  fact  is  given  support  by  the  absence  of  any 
regular  killing  for  the  year  1869  and  the  small  quota  of  23,000  only  which  was  taken 
in  1870.  We  are  not  aware  that  the  usual  number  of  seals  could  not  have  been 
obtained  in  these  years,  but  it  may  well  have  been  that  the  quota  for  1869  and  1870 
had  been  anticipated  to  large  extent  in  the  year  1868.  This  much,  however,  remains 
certain,  that  the  absence  of  large  killings  in  1869  and  1870  removed  any  possible 
injury  which  might  have  resulted  to  the  herd  from  the  too  close  killing  of  bachelors  in 
1868,  and  the  fact  that  for  fifteen  years  subsequent  to  1870,  100,000  and  more  males 
were  to  be  obtained  on  the  hauling  grounds  of  the  islands  shows  conclusively  that  not 
only  were  the  breeding  females  not  disturbed  in  1868,  but  furthermore  that  the  supply 
of  male  life  was  not  so  reduced  as  in  any  way  to  affect  the  life  of  the  herd. 

AMERICAN  MANAGEMENT. 

In  the  spring  of  1869  Dr.  H.  H.  Mclntyre,  the  representative  of  the  United  States 
Government,  landed  upon  the  island,  establishing  the  authority  of  the  Government, 
and  taking  the  necessary  steps  for  the  protection  of  the  rookeries. 

The  period  of  lawlessness  which  marked  the  season  of  1868  was  thus  terminated 
in  1869  by  Dr.  Mclntyre.  He  was  appointed  in  1868  and  endeavored  to  reach  his 
destination  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  but  on  account  of  the  lateness  of  the  season  he 
was  forced  to  winter  at  Sitka. 

THE  ALASKA  COMMERCIAL  COMPANY. 

In  the  meantime  the  Government  had  under  consideration  the  most  advantageous 
method  of  managing  its  fur-seal  industry.  After  a  thorough  consideration  of  all 
recommendations  and  suggestions  bearing  upon  the  matter,  it  was  decided  to  lease 
the  islands  to  a  single  reliable  company  under  the  immediate  supervision  and  control 
of  agents  of  the  Treasury  Department,  duly  commissioned  for  that  purpose.  In 
accordance  with  this  decision  in  July,  1870,  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  this 
course  of  procedure,  and  immediately  afterwards  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
advertised  for  bids  for  the  lease  of  the  seal  fisheries  for  a  period  of  twenty  years. 

Of  the  numerous  offers  received  from  various  companies  and  associations,  that  of 
the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $2,000,000,  was  accepted  as  the 
one  most  likely  to  promote  the  "  interests  of  the  Government,  the  native  inhabitants, 
the  parties  heretofore  engaged  in  the  trade,  and  the  protection  of  the  seal  fisheries." 

'Appendix  to  Case  of  U.  S.,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Letter  No.  23,  p.  82. 


LEASES  OF  THE  FUR  SEAL  ISLANDS.  29 

THE  FIRST  LEASE. 

Under  the  terms  of  this  lease  the  company  were  given  the  right  to  take  100,00b 
male  seals  over  one  year  of  age  during  the  months  of  June,  July,  September,  and 
October  of  each  year.  In  1874,  by  act  of  Congress,  the  number  of  seals  to  be  taken 
and  the  time  of  sealing  was  made  subject  to  the  control  of  officers  of  the  Treasury 
Department,  and  killing  after  August  1  was  limited  to  the  necessities  of  the  food  supply 
of  the  natives.  The  use  of  firearms  or  of  other  methods  of  killing,  tending  to  drive 
the  seals  away,  was  prohibited,  as  was  also  the  killing  of  the  animals  in  the  water. 

In  consideration  for  the  skins  so  taken  the  lessees  agreed  to  pay  to  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States  an  annual  rental  of  $55,000  for  the  islands,  and  a  revenue  tax  of 
$2.62£  on  each  skin  taken  and  shipped  by  them.  In  addition  they  were  to  furnish 
free  of  charge  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  each  year  25,000  dried  salmon,  60  cords 
of  firewood,  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  salt  and  preserved  meats.  The  company  was 
also  to  maintain  a  school  on  each  island  for  at  least  eight  months  of  the  year,  and 
were  forbidden  to  sell  any  distilled  spirits  or  spirituous  liquors. 

THE  NORTH  AMERICAN    COMMERCIAL  COMPANY. 

Under  the  provisions  of  this  lease  the  affairs  of  the  islands  were  conducted  until 
the  close *of  the  season  of  1889,  when  it  expired.  The  Treasury  Department  again 
advertised  for  bids  and  again  leased  the  islands  for  a  term  of  twenty  years  to  a  new 
company,  the  North  American  Commercial  Company,  their  offer  having  been  accepted 
as  most  advantageous  to  the  Government. 

THE  PRESENT  LEASE. 

The  new  lease  differs  from  the  old  to  the  advantage  of  the  Government  in  the 
following  points:  The  rental  of  the  islands  is  fixed  at  $60,000.  The  tax  of  each  skin 
is  $9.62£.  Eighty  tons  of  coal  are  furnished  the  natives.  The  quantity  of  salmon, 
salt,  and  other  provisions  to  be  furnished  can  be  fixed  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury.  The  company  furnishes  free  dwellings,  churches,  physicians,  medicines, 
employment  to  the  natives,  and  cares  for  the  aged,  the  widows,  and  the  orphans. 
The  quota  was  fixed  at  60,000  for  the  first  year,  and  has  since  been  subject  to  the 
regulation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

THE  DECLINE  IN  THE  BACHELOR  HERD. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  lease  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  a 
marked  decrease  in  the  fur  seal  herd  had  begun  to  be  noted.  In  the  opening  year  of 
the  new  company's  lease  the  depleted  condition  of  the  herd  became  apparent  in  the 
reduction  to  one-fifth  in  the  original  quota  of  100,000  skins.  Various  factors  entered 
into  this  decline,  which  it  is  not  necessary  here  to  discuss  fully.  These,  as  well 
as  the  original  cause  of  decrease  in  the  herd,  were  at  best  but  imperfectly  understood 
at  the  time. 

LAND  AND  SEA  KILLING. 

To  make  the  matter  clear  in  the  briefest  possible  space,  at  this  point  it  is  necessary 
to  review  somewhat  the  history  of  the  herd.  Conjointly  with  the  killing  on  land,  as 
practiced  by  the  Russians  and  Americans,  there  had  been  going  on  from  time  imme- 
morial killing  of  another  sort  now  known  as  pelagic  sealing.  This  was  carried  on  at 


30  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PHIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

first  by  the  Indians  off  the  Northwest  Coast,  going  out  in  their  canoes  to  capture  the 
seals  in  the  course  of  their  winter  migration.  The  number  of  animals  so  taken  was 
at  first  merely  nominal,  and  it  was  not  until  about  the  year  1879,  when  schooners  were 
first  introduced  to  transport  the  canoes  to  their  field  of  operations  and  care  for  them 
there,  that  the  industry  began  to  make  itself  felt  on  the  herd.  The  rise  of  pelagic 
sealing  thereafter  was  rapid,  and  in  1880  it  was  extended  into  Bering  Sea.  From 
this  time  on  the  killing  at  sea  steadily  increased,  and  as  the  bulk  of  the  catch  was 
composed  of  females  the  operations  of  pelagic  sealing  necessarily  produced  an 
injurious  effect  on  the  herd,  which  disclosed  itself  first  in  the  diminished  product  of  the 
hauling  grounds  already  noted. 

THE  EXTENSION  OF  SEALING  TO  BERING  SEA 

At  the  first  entry  of  sealing  vessels  into  Bering  Sea  the  United  States  acted  on 
the  precedent  established  by  Eussia  in  the  Ukase  of  1821,  seized  a  number  of  the 
sealing  vessels  and  confiscated  them.  Pelagic  sealing  being  largely  a  Canadian 
industry,  this  action  at  once  started  a  controversy  with  Great  Britain  which  extended 
over  the  period  from  1886  to  1890.  Meantime  the  injurious  effect  of  the  slaughter  of 
large  numbers  of  females  was  more  and  more  evident  in  the  herd,  until  in  1890  it  became 
alarming,  the  number  of  killable  seals  having  decreased  to  one-fifth  the  usual  number. 

From  the  discussion  of  the  seizures  of  Canadian  vessels  and  the  efforts  of  the 
United  States  to  secure  protection  to  its  fur-seal  herd,  resulted  a  treaty,  in  the  spring 
of  1892,  remanding  the  whole  matter  to  the  consideration  of  a  tribunal  of  arbitration 
which  should  pass  upon  the  legal  questions  involved,  and  if  need  be  provide  such 
measures  as  were  necessary  for  the  proper  protection  and  preservation  of  the  herd. 
As  a  basis  for  such  action,  provision  was  made  for  a  thorough  investigation  of  the 
condition  of  the  herd  by  a  joint  commission  of  experts. 

THE  TRIBUNAL  OF  ARBITRATION. 

This  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  met  at  Paris  in  the  summer  of  1893,  and  as  a  result 
of  its  labors  a  set  of  regulations  was  formulated,  the  essential  features  of  which 
were  the  establishment  of  a  closed  zone  of  60  miles  in  Bering  Sea  about  the  islands 
and  a  closed  season,  from  May  1  to  August  1,  within  which  all  sealing  was  prohibited. 

THE  REGULATIONS. 

During  the  pendency  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Tribunal,  pelagic  sealing  was  in 
part  suspended.  The  season  of  1894  witnessed  the  first  operations  of  the  regulations, 
and  the  resumption  of  pelagic  sealing  under  them  showed  an  increased  catch  over  the 
unrestricted  killing  of  1891.  The  United  States  became  convinced  at  the  close  of  the 
first  season  that  the  regulations  were  inadequate.  A  protest  was  entered  and  Great 
Britain  was  asked  to  consider  their  immediate  revision.  At  the  close  of  each  subse- 
quent season  this  protest  and  request  were  again  renewed.  Failing  to  obtain  such 
reconsideration  the  United  States  early  in  1896  accepted  the  proposal  of  Great 
Britain  to  prepare  for  a  reexamination  of  the  regulations  at  the  end  of  the  five-year 
trial  period,  by  subjecting  the  whole  question  to  independent  scientific  investigation 
on  the  part  of  the  two  Governments.  The  present  report  is  the  outcome  of  this 
investigation  so  far  as  the  United  States  is  concerned. 


C  II  APT  Kit   I  I  I. 

THE  HOME  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS. 

A.  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 
THEIR   GEOGRAPHY. 

The  little  group  of  rocky  islets  known  as  the  Pribilof  Islands,  from  the  name  of 
tbeir  discoverer,  is  situated  in  the  Bering  Sea,  in  latitude  57°  north  and  longitude 
170°  west.  They  are  isolated  from  other  land,  the  nearest  point  to  the  south  being 
Unalaska  Island,  at  a  distance  of  214  miles.  Cape  Xewenham,  on  the  mainland  of 
Alaska,  at  a  distance  of  309  miles,  is  the  nearest  point  to  the  eastward,  while  St. 
Matthew  Island,  220  miles  away,  is  the  first  land  to  the  northward. 

The  islands  are  of  volcanic  origin,  and  are  five  in  number — St.  Paul,  St.  George, 
Otter,  Walrus,  and  Sivutch  Hock.  The  first  two  only  are  of  importance.  The  last 
three  are  small  islets  lying  about  St.  Paul  Island  and  within  about  7  miles  of  its 
shores.  The  main  islands  are  separated  by  about  40  statute  miles  of  water. 

ST.   PAUL   ISLAND. 

St.  Paul,  the  largest  island,  lies  in  latitude  57°  07'  north  and  longitude  170°  17' 
west.*  It  has  an  extreme  length  from  northeast  to  southwest  of  13£  miles.  Its 
maximum  width  is  7|  miles.  It  has  a  shore  line  of  about  45 £  miles  and  an  area 
of  43  square  miles.  The  surface  of  the  island  is  in  the  main  low.  Kocky  plateaus 
alternate  with  low  valleys,  some  of  which  contain  ponds  of  fresh  water.  One  of 
these  covers  a  space  upward  of  2  miles  in  length  by  half  a  mile  in  width,  but  is  very 
shallow.  It  is  shut  in  by  sand  dunes,  and  lies  along  the  narrow  neck  which  joins 
the  rocky  headland  called  Northeast  Point  with  the  main  body  of  the  island.  In  the 
southeast  end  of  the  island  is  a  salt-water  lagoon,  covering  some  169  acres  in  extent, 
and  connected  with  the  sea  by  a  narrow  channel  some  75  to  100  feet  in  width.  The 
average  elevation  of  the  upland  areas  is  not  more  than  150  feet,  but  a  number  of  cinder 
cones  and  volcanic  craters  rise  to  varying  heights  in  the  interior  portion  of  the  island. 
Bogoslof  attains*  an  elevation  of  590  feet,  but  Rush  Hill  on  the  west  shore  is  the 
highest,  065  feet.  A  number  of  shallow  bays  indent  the  coast  line,  bordered  by  long 
stretches  of  sandy  beach,  behind  which  are  areas  of  shifting  sand  dunes;  but  for  the 
most  part  the  shores  are  bo  wider- strewn  and  rugged,  rising  in  sheer  cliffs  at  the 
headlands. 

ST.   GEORGE   ISLAND. 

St.  George  lies  to  the  southeast  of  St.  Paul  at  a  distance  of  about  40  miles,  in 
latitude  56°  36'  north  and  longitude  169°  32'  west.*  It  has  a  total  length  of  12  miles 
and  a  width  of  4£  miles.  The  area  is  about  35.9  square  miles,  and  it  has  a  coast  line 
of  30  miles.  The  central  portion  of  the  island  is  composed  of  an  elevated  ridge 
containing  one  peak  over  900  feet  in  height.  The  general  altitude  of  the  island 


'  Latitude  and  longitude  of  the  village. 

31 


32  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

is  about  three  times  as  great  as  that  of  St.  Paul.  The  coast  line  is  for  the  most  part 
a  succession  of  steep,  rocky  cliifs,  breaking  at  intervals  into  short  stretches  of  rocky 
slope.  High  Bluff',  on  the  north  shore,  with  an  elevation  of  over  1,000  feet  being  the 
highest.  The  perpendicular  cliffs  and  crevices  among  the  bowlders  in  the  upland 
portions  of  the  island  are  the  homes  of  innumerable  sea  birds.  There  are  practically 
no  sand  beaches  on  the  island,  and  the  shore  space  available  for  rookery  purposes  is 
limited.  By  blasting  off  the  cliffs  it  might,  however,  be  greatly  extended. 

OTTER   ISLAND. 

Otter  Island  is  situated  on  the  south  of  St.  Paul  Island  and  about  6  miles  distant 
from  it.  It  is  said  to  be  the  only  island  of  the  group  which  shows  evidence  of  recent 
volcanic  action.  Its  area  is  very  small,  being  less  than  115  acres  in  extent.  Its  shores 
are  for  the  most  part  inaccessible.  At  the  western  end  a  cinder  cone  rises  in  a  grassy 
slope  to  the  height  of  300  feet  and  drops  off  in  a  sheer  cliff'  on  the  seaward  side.  At 
the  eastern  end  is  the  pit  of  a  crater,  connected  by  a  subterranean  passageway  with 
the  shore.  On  the  northern  face  the  surface  of  the  island  slopes  down  into  a  low, 
rocky  beach  of  limited  extent,  the  only  one  on  the  island. 

WALRUS   ISLAND. 

Walrus  Island  lies  about  7  miles  to  the  east  of  St.  Paul.  It  is  a  narrow  ledge  of 
lava  rock  about  half  a  mile  in  length.  It  reaches  no  degree  of  elevation,  and  in 
stormy  weather  the  breakers  wash  over  it.  It  is  the  home  of  countless  numbers  of 
sea  birds  and  was  formerly  frequented  by  walruses.  Sea  lions  occasionally  laud  there. 

SIVUTCH   ROCK. 

Sivutch  Rock  is  a  little  crescent-shaped  rocky  islet  about  a  third  of  a  mile  oft'  the 
southern  shore  of  St.  Paul.  Its  area  is  insignificant,  but  the  island  attains  some 
degree  of  importance  through  the  presence  of  a  small  fur-seal  rookery,  which  fills  its 
available  space. 

NO   GOOD   HARBORS. 

There  are  no  harbors  of  any  kind  about  the  islands  of  the  Pribilof  group.  The 
bays  are  small  and  very  shallow.  In  calm  weather,  however,  there  is  anchorage  for 
small  vessels  at  various  points.  In  stormy  weather  it  is  impossible  to  load  or  unload 
vessels  of  any  kind  with  safety.  Dangerous  reefs  are  found  about  both  islands,  and 
navigation  in  their  vicinity  is  subject  to  many  risks. 

THE   CLIMATE. 

The  climate  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  in  summer  is  damp  and  chilly.  Dense  fogs 
almost  constantly  envelop  them,  rain  falls  frequently,  and  the  sun  is  seldom  seen. 
The  summer  temperature  ranges  between  40°  and  45°  F.,  reaching  its  highest  point  in 
August.  During  June,  July,  and  August  but  few  clear  days  occur.  In  September 
the  cold  winds  sweep  away  the  moisture  from  the  atmosphere  and  bright  days  become 
more  numerous.  On  a  clear  day  the  islands  are  extremely  picturesque.  Toward  the 
end  of  October  the  storms  become  more  violent,  and  in  November  winter  begins,  the 
change  of  season  being  very  rapid. 


LIFE    ON    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS.  33 

During  the  winter  much  snow  falls,  but  it  is  swept  away  by  the  high  winds  which 
prevail  throughout  the  season.  The  winter  temperature  ranges  from  22°  to  26°  F. 
The  waters  about  the  islands  do  uot  freeze,  but  toward  the  end  of  the  winter  the  drift 
ice  from  the  north  floats  down  and  incloses  the  islands,  piling  high  upon  the  beaches 
and  iii  the  bays  under  the  action  of  the  surf.  It  remains  packed  about  the  islands 
until  about  the  1st  of  May,  when  it  gradually  disappears  under  the  approaching 
change  of  season. 

VEGETATION. 

The  surface  of  the  elevated  portions  of  both  islands  is  in  summer  clothed  with 
moss  and  grasses,  in  which  are  surprising  numbers  of  showy  wild  flowers.  Conspic- 
uous among  them  are  the  Iceland  poppy,  monkshood,  species  of  lupine,  betony, 
chrysanthemum,  senecio,  saxifrage,  harebell,  and  many  others.  The  lower  parts 
of  the  islands  are  covered  with  a  soil  of  black  lava  sand,  in  which  flourishes  a  coarse, 
rank,  useless  grass — the  wild  rye  grass  (Elymus  mollis}.  Mingled  with  it  is  the  coarse 
putchki.  a  species  of  Archangeliccij  used  by  the  Aleuts  as  a  spice.  The  abandoned 
hauling  grounds  of  the  fur  seals  are  rapidly  invaded  by  two  species  of  slender, 
light-green  grasses,  Glyceria  angustata  and  Deschampsia  ccespitosa,  known  as  "seal 
grass."  These  contrast  sharply  with  the  coarse,  dark-green  rye  grass  and  a  luxuriant 
species  of  wormwood,  neither  of  which  grow  on  land  where  seals  have  regularly 
hauled.  About  the  rookeries  themselves  the  movements  of  the  animals  virtually 
destroy  all  vegetation.  There  are  no  trees  or  shrubs.  A  small,  dwarfish  willow  and 
a  species  of  crowberry  are  the  only  approach  to  them  that  are  to  be  found. 

THE   MAMMALS. 

The  principal  mammals  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  are  the  fur  seals,  which  have 
their  breeding  grounds  on  the  rocky  beaches  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  islands.  At 
certain  points  on  the  islands  are  sea  lion  rookeries,  and  numbers  of  the  animals  are 
at  all  times  to  be  seen  lying  about  among  the  fur  seals.  A  smaller  number  of  hair-seals 
also  frequent  points  about  St.  Paul  Island.  Formerly  sea  otters  and  walruses  were 
not  uncommon,  but  they  are  now  practically  extinct.  The  blue  fox  is  common  to 
both  islands,  and  mingled  with  the  blue  foxes  are  a  limited  number  of  white  ones. 
Lemmings  are  found  on  St.  George  and  shrews  on  both  islands. 

THE   BIRDS. 

Myriads  of  sea  birds  breed  on  the  rocky  cliffs  of  St.  George  Island.  Among  these 
are  the  cormorants,  murres,  and  chutchkis,  sea  parrots  and  gulls.  Walrus  Island 
is  literally  covered  with  these  birds  in  the  nesting  season.  Their  eggs  are  gathered 
by  the  natives  in  boat  loads  in  the  spring.  About  the  little  ponds  in  the  interior 
of  the  islands  sandpipers  abound.  Phalaropes  are  numerous  in  the  summer.  Teal 
and  mallard  ducks  are  found  in  the  fall.  "  Geese  in  limited  numbers  alight  on  St.  Paul 
to  feed  on  the  berries  near  north  shore.  White  owls  have  been  found  on  both  islands. 

INHABITANTS. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Pribilof  Islands,  in  1786,  they  were  uninhab- 
ited.    In  order  to  obtain  laborers  to  handle  the  seals,  natives  were  brought  over  from 
15184 3 


34  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  the  first  colony  was  established  on  St.  George  Island,  near 
Staraya  Artel  rookery,  so  called  from  this  fact,  the  name  meaning  "old  guild"  or 
association.  Other  villages  were  afterwards  established  on  this  island  at  Zapadui  and 
at  Garden  Cove. 

In  the  course  of  time  men  were  carried  in  similar  manner  to  St.  Paul  Island,  the 
Aleutian  settlements  at  Unalaska  and  Atka  being  chiefly  drawn  upon.  The  first 
settlement  on  St.  Paul  was  established  at  the  foot  of  the  large  shallow  Mishalke  Lake 
at  the  northern  end  of  the  island.  Later  settlements  were  located  at  Poloviua  and  at 
Zapadni  of  St.  Paul. 

CONDITIONS  IN   RUSSIAN   DAYS. 

When,  in  1799,  the  Russian-American  Company  came  into  control  of  the  islands, 
the  various  settlements  on  St.  Paul  were  grouped  into  one  at  Polovina.  Afterwards 
they  were  transferred  to  the  present  location  of  the  village,  in  order  to  be  near  the 
most  advantageous  landing  places.  In  like  manner,  the  villages  at  Garden  Cove, 
Zapadni,  and  Staraya  Artel  were  gradually  broken  up  and  the  inhabitants  grouped 
on  the  present  site  of  the  village  of  St.  George,  on  the  northern  face  of  the  island. 

Of  the  condition  of  the  Aleuts  in  these  early  days  of  Eussian  control  Mr.  Elliott 
says: 

They  were  mere  slaves,  •without  the  slightest  redress  from  any  insolence  or  injuries  which  their 
masters  might  see  fit  in  petulance  or  brutal  orgies  to  inflict  upon  them.  Here  they  lived  and  died, 
nnnoticed  and  uncared  for,  in  large  barracoons,  half  underground  and  dirt  roofed,  cold  and  filthy. 

This  is  probably  not  an  extreme  picture  of  the  condition  of  the  natives  in  Russian 
times.  The  Aleuts  at  the  present  time  look  back  to  these  as  their  halcyon  days;  but 
this  feeling  may  exist  as  the  memory  of  indulgences  which  they  are  forbidden  now. 
It  is  certain  that  but  little  thought  or  care  was  bestowed  upon  them  by  their  Russian 
managers  beyond  seeing  that  they  did  the  required  work. 

CONDITIONS   UNDER   AMERICAN   CONTROL. 

Under  American  control  matters  changed.  The  Alaska  Commercial  Company 
early  in  the  period  of  its  lease  erected  suitable  frame  cottages,  furnished  with  the 
substantial  comforts  of  life,  which  took  the  place  of  the  cheerless  and  insanitary  sod 
houses,  or  barrabaras.  A  physician  with  the  necessary  medical  supplies  was  stationed 
on  each  island  to  care  for  the  wants  of  the  people.  Churches  were  erected  and  pre 
sided  over  by  priests  of  the  Russian-Greek  faith.  Schools  in  which  the  English 
branches  are  taught  were  established.  Wood  and  coal  took  the  place  of  the  filthy 
seal-blubber  and  driftwood  fuel.  The  former  exclusive  diet  of  seal  meat  was  supple- 
mented by  many  of  the  staples  and  even  luxuries  of  civilized  living. 

THE  HANDLING  OF  THE  SEALS.  i 

All  the  work  of  driving,  slaughtering,  and  skinning  the  seals,  as  well  as  the  curing 
of  the  skins,  is  done  by  the  Aleuts  under  the  direction  of  the  agents  of  the  lessees. 
They  are  paid  by  the  lessees  for  this  labor  at  so  much  per  skin.  Under  the  old  lease 
this  was  40  cents,  a,nd  for  the  100,000  skins  regularly  taken  this  gave  a  fund  of 
$40,000  for  the  support  of  a  total  population  of  between  400  and  450,  of  both  sexes 
and  all  ages.  At  the  present  time  the  price  is  50  cents  a  skin,  but  the  number 
of  skins  taken  has  greatly  decreased. 


THE    ALEUT   PEOPLE.  35 

The  earnings  of  the  natives  are  treated  as  a  community  fund,  wliicli  is  distributed 
to  the  workers  in  several  classes,  according  to  their  skill  or  experience.  The  amount 
due  to  each  family  is  credited  to  them  on  the  books  of  the  lessees  and  is  drawn  upon 
by  them  through  the  island  store  as  it  is  needed. 

THE  SUPPORT  OF  THE  ALEUTS. 

When,  in  1890,  the  quota  of  seat  skins  fell  to  about  one-fifth  its  former  number,  and 
when  it  was  still  further  reduced  under  the  modus  vivendi  of  1891-1893,  the  income 
of  the  Aleuts  became  so  greatly  reduced  as  to  be  inadequate  to  meet  their  wants.  To 
cover  the  deficiency  the  Government  has  each  year  since  that  time  appropriated  an 
additional  sum  of  money  for  their  support.  The  liberal,  not  to  say  prodigal,  character 
of  this  allowance  can  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  for  the  season  of  1896  these  people 
exhausted,  in  addition  to  their  earnings,  of  about  $16,000,  from  the  taking  of  seal  and 
fox  skins,  the  full  Congressional  appropriation  of  $19,500.  They  pay  nothing  for  rent, 
taxes,  or  for  medical  attendance,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  their  meat 
is  free.  There  are  few  laboring  communities  whose  people  can  boast  of  such  generous 
conditions  of  support. 

The  original  colony  of  Aleuts  transported  to  the  islands  numbered,  according  to 
Mr.  Elliott,  137  souls.  To  these  additions  were  made  from  time  to  time.  In  1871 
Captain  Bryant  tells  us  that  the  population  of  the  two  islands  numbered  426  persons, 
of  both  sexes  and  all  ages.  No  new  accessions  have  been  made  lately,  and  the 
population  has  dwindled  to  slightly  less  than  300  at  the  present  time. 

The  Aleuts  are  a  gentle  and  tractable  class  of  people.  They  are  courteous  in 
their  manners  and  unusually  skillful  in  their  work.  They  have  the  usual  aboriginal 
weaknesses  for  rum  and  the  vices  of  civilization,  but  as  a  result  of  the  isolated 
position  of  the  islands,  and  the  strict  control  which  the  Government  is  able,  through 
its  officers,  to  exercise  over  them,  the  people  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  are  a 
respectable  and  orderly  class. 

THE   GOVERNMENT  AGENTS. 

The  interests  of  the  Government  on  the  islands  are  in  charge  of  agents  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  who  supervise  the  work  of  the  natives,  look  after  their  wants, 
and  enforce  the  authority  of  the  Government.  The  natives  are  allowed,  in  large 
measure,  nominally  to  govern  themselves.  They  have  a  head  chief  and  second  chief, 
who  deal  directly  with  the  people,  and  are  in  turn  dealt  with  by  the  Government 
agents.  The  relations  of  the  people  with  one  another  are  controlled  by  a  council  of 
the  wise  men,  chosen,  like  the  chiefs,  by  the  people  themselves. 

On  the  whole,  the  lot  of  the  Aleut  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  is  an  unusually  favored 
one.  He  works  but  a  few  months  in  the  summer  and  is  liberally  fed  and  clothed  by 
the  Government.  If  the  seal  herd  is  again  restored  to  its  former  capacity,  he  may  in 
time  even  become  wealthy.  The  chief  social  drawback  in  his  relations  lies  in  the  want 
of  consecutive  work.  The  lack  of  anything  to  do  through  the  long  winter  induces 
laziness  and  gambling.  Even  useless  work  if  continuous  would  be  a  real  boon  to  the 
Aleut. 


36  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBTLOF    ISLANDS. 

B.  THE  FUR-SEAL  ROOKERIES. 
THE   BREEDING   GROUNDS. 

Wherever  there  is  a  rocky  beach  of  some  breadth  or  a  sloping  rocky  hill  on  the 
Pribilof  Islands  the  fur  seals  have  located  their  breeding  grounds,  or  "rookeries,"  as 
they  are  called.  The  best  type  of  rookery  ground  is  a  moderate  slope  covered  with 
coarse  rocks  and  descending  to  a  beach  of  shingle  or  rounded  bowlders.  On  these 
beaches  their  gregarious  habits  cause  the  animals  to  crowd  together  in  close-set 
masses.  The  limits  of  the  rookeries  are  defined  by  abrupt  cliffs  or  headlands,  which 
cut  off  the  beaches,  by  inaccessible  cliffs  that  rise  in  the  rear  and  by  intervening  sand 
beaches.  They  seldom  extend  far  back  from  the  sea  under  any  condition,  as  access 
to  the  water  is  an  essential  feature. 

THE   HAULING   GROUNDS. 

Adjoining  the  breeding  grounds  and  an  essential  part  of  each  rookery  are  what 
are  known  as  the  "  hauling  grounds"  of  the  bachelors,  frequented  by  the  young  males 
of  the  ages  of  5  years  and  under,  these  classes  being  strictly  excluded  from  the  breed- 
ing grounds.  These  hauling  grounds  are  usually  located  on  sandy  beaches  bordering 
the  breeding  grounds  or  on  the  flat  "parade"  grounds  above  and  in  the  rear  of  the 
harems.  In  most  cases  the  bachelors  are  forced  to  encircle  the  end  of  the  breeding 
grounds  to  reach  their  locations  in  the  rear,  but  in  some  cases  neutral  strips  or  run- 
ways are  left  among  the  harems  through  which  the  bachelors  haul  out  unmolested. 
Not  infrequently  the  bachelors  seek  to  use  runways  which  are  not  recognized  as 
neutral,  and  they  are  summarily  thrown  out  by  the  harem  masters.  This  leads  to 
confusion  and  fighting  among  the  bulls,  and  the  consequent  destruction  of  females 
and  young  pups.  In  many  cases  the  hauling  grounds  are  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  breeding  grounds,  but  even  where  they  are  located  immediately  in  the  rear 
of  the  harems,  a  buffer  of  idle  or  reserve  bulls  keeps  them  at  a  safe  distance.  The 
young  males  have  a  wholesome  and  well-defined  fear  of  the  bulls,  which  experience 
amply  justifies. 

In  the  present  depleted  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  much  ground  once  occupied 
has  been  abandoned.  The  tendency  of  the  animals,  in  obedience  to  their  gregarious 
instincts,  is  to  crowd  together,  and  as  their  numbers  decrease  the  rookeries  shrink 
up.  With  the  restoration  of  the  herd  these  abandoned  grounds  will  undoubtedly  be 
reoccupied.  It  is  probable  that  the  occupation  of  absolutely  new  ground  could  only 
result  from  an  overcrowded  condition  of  the  rookeries.  Not  all  the  available  space  on 
the  islands  was  ever  occupied  even  in  the  time  of  greatest  expansion,  as  there  are 
long  stretches  of  suitable  beach  line  on  which  seals  have  never  been  known  to  breed. 

THE    ST.   PAUL   ROOKERIES. 

The  following  is  a  brief  description  of  the  breeding  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  Island, 
beginning  at  Northwest  Point  : 

1.  Vostochni*  (eastern). — This  rookery  lies  on  the  northern  face  of  the  peninsula  of 
Northeast  Point.  It  extends  from  the  vicinity  of  Cross  Hill,  at  the  termination  of  the 


*  The  different  fur-seal  rookeries  have  for  the  most  part  retained  their  picturesque  Russian  names. 
It  is  very  desirable  that  they  should  continue  to  do  so,  and  it  would  be  appropriate  if  Russian  equiva- 
lents wore  substituted  for  the  few  English,  names  which  have  come  into  use.  In  the  spelling  of  the 
Russian  names  we  have  followed  the  present  accepted  methods  of  transliteration  under  the  advice  of 


THE    ROOKERIES    OF    ST.    PAUL.  37 

great  sand  beach  known  as  "North  Shore,"  to  the  tip  of  the  point  itself.  It  occupies 
for  the  most  part  beaches  of  coarse  bowlders,  with  occasional  outcroppiugs  of  harems 
on  the  flat  ground  above.  The  line  of  harems  is  frequently  broken  by  short  stretches 
of  sand  beach,  which  are  used  by  the  bachelors  as  runways  to  reach  their  hauling 
grounds.  On  the  seaward  slope  of  Hutchinson  Hill,  which  forms  the  highest  part  of 
the  peninsula,  the  rookery  becomes  greatly  widened  and  closely  massed.  Late  in  the 
season  harems  were  even  found  at  the  summit  of  the  hill. 

From  this  point  to  the  end  of  the  rookery  the  harems  scatter  along  the  bowlder 
beach  in  a  narrow  band.  About  midway  to  the  end  is  a  small  sea-lion  rookery.  At 
the  eastern  angle  of  Hutchinson  Hill  and  on  the  sand  beach  behind  Cross  Hill  are  the 
most  important  hauling  grounds  of  the  rookery,  though  at  the  present  time,  owing  to 
the  numerous  breaks  in  the  lines  of  breeding  seals,  small  pods  of  bachelors  are  to  be 
found  at  a  large  number  of  other  places. 

2.  Morjori  (of  the  walrus). — The  line  of  division  between  this  and  the  preceding 
rookery  is  a  purely  arbitrary  one.  At  the  point  there  is  a  considerable  break  in  the 
line  of  harems  and  behind  is  a  small  hauling  ground.  The  harems  resume  and  follow 
along  the  bowlder  beach  as  before  for  a  short  distance.  Then  a  break  occurs,  with  a 
runway  for  the  bachelors  and  another  sea-lion  rookery.  Beyond  this  is  the  principal 
portion  of  the  rookery.  It  consists  of  a  large  body  of  harems  closely  massed  and  lying 
back  on  the  flat  at  the  angle  of  the  sand  beach  at  Walrus  Bight.  Behind  and  to  the 
west  of  this  mass  is  the  great  hauling  ground  of  Morjovi  rookery.  Beyond  the  sand 
beach  scattering  groups  of  harems  occur  on  the  sides  of  a  long,  narrow,  tongue  of  land 
jutting  out  to  the  eastward,  called  Sea  Lion  Neck.  Another  sand  beach  intervenes,  and 
the  rookery  ends  in  a  considerable  mass  of  harems  grouped  about  a  rocky  point  nearly 
opposite  Webster  Lake,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula.  An  unimportant  hauling 
ground  lies  at  the  extreme  end  of  the  rookery. 

Vostochni  and  Morjovi  combined  furnish  the  greatest  continuous  fur-seal  rookery 
on  the  two  islands.  Along  their  3  miles  of  coast  line  are  upward  of  100,000  fur  seals 
of  all  classes,  about  one-fourth  of  the  total  number  on  the  Pribilof  Islands.  From 
the  summit  of  Hutchiuson  Hill  a  bird's  eye  view  of  the  two  rookeries  can  be  had,  and 
the  sight  is  a  most  impressive  one.  A  greater  number  of  fur  seals  (or  for  that  matter 
any  other  animals)  is  to  be  seen  here  than  for  any  other  point  in  the  world. 

5.  Polovina  (halfway). — This  rookery,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  located  halfway 
between  Northeast  Point  and  the  village.  The  main  part  of  the  rookery  lies  massed 
upon  the  beach  and  the  flat  above  the  cliffs  that  rise  from  the  low  reef  of  Polovina 
Point  and  shade  down  with  a  gentle  slope  to  the  great  sand  beach  which  stretches 
away  1  miles  or  more  to  Stony  Point.  At  the  angle  of  the  sand  beach  the  bachelors 
make  their  way  to  the  hauling  ground  in  the  rear  of  the  massed  portion  of  the  rookery. 


a  competent  Russian  scholar,  Mr.  Alexis  V.  Babine,  librarian  of  the  University  of  Indiana.  Much 
confusion  in  the  records  has  arisen  through  the  current  use  of  a  Russian  and  English  name  for  the 
same  place,  as  for  example,  Zapadui  and  Southwest  Bay,  Polovina  aud  Halfway  Point.  We  have  in 
each  case  tried  to  select  the  most  suitable  name  for  the  purpose,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  the 
future  agents  and  others  concerned  will  conform  to  the  usage  hero  adopted.  We  have  given  a  separate 
name  to  each  of  the  three  parts  of  what  has  been  generally  known  as  Zapadni.  The  great  rookery 
lying  about  the  shores  of  Northeast  Point  has  been  divided  for  convenience  at  the  tip  of  the  point. 
It  has  been  thought  best,  because  of  the  importance  it  has  obtained  through  the  frequent  observations 
made  upon  it  during  this  investigation,  to  designate  as  Ardigueu  rooker\r,  a  small  detached  breeding 
area  on  Reef  peninsula. 


38  THE    FUR    SEALS   OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Above  Polovina  Point  extend  steep  cliffs  with  a  narrow  beach  of  shingle,  along 
which  harems  are  scattered  in  detached  groups.  Occasional  breaks  or  runways  in 
the  cliff  wall  give  access  to  the  flat  ground  above,  and  at  one  or  two  points  the  harems 
overflow  on  the  level.  At  the  last  break  in.  the  cliff  is  a  large  hauling  ground. 
The  cliff'  then  closes  in,  and  for  a  half  mile  leaves  no  room  for  the  seals  to  lie.  Again, 
as  at  the  southern  end,  the>  cliff'  shades  off'  in  a  gradual  slope  to  the  sand  beach,  which 
continues  to  the  northward  as  far  as  Northeast  Point.  On  this  northern  rocky  slope 
of  the  cliff  is  situated  the  small  but  picturesque  rookery  of  Little  Polovina,  in  reality 
au  overflow  of  the  greater  rookery.  The  Polovina  rookeries  have  a  population  of 
about  20,000  seals  of  all  classes. 

4.  Lulcanin  (name  of  an  early  seal  hunter). — From  Stony  Point  to  the  southward  is 
the  great  sand  beach  of  Lukanin.    At  its  eud  rises  the  rocky  slope  of  Lukanin  Hill, 
along  which  the  rookery  of  the  same  name  lies.    At  the  northern  end  is  the  hauling 
ground  of  the  rookery.    It  is  a  favorite  resort  for  the  very  young  bachelors,  a  greater 
proportion  being  found  here  than  on  any  other  rookery.     Part  of  the  breeding  ground 
lies  at  the  foot  of  cliffs,  which  are  easy  of  approach,  and  as  the  rookery  is  near  to  the 
village  it  has  been  made  the  subject  of  close  study  by  numerous  observers. 

5.  Kitovi  (of  the  whale). — This  rookery  is  merely  a  continuation  of  Lukanin,  from 
which  it  is  separated  by  the  purely  arbitrary  boundary  of  Lukaniu  Point.    The 
rookery  lies  along  bold  rocks,  basaltic  columns,  and  slopes  of  cinder  and  lava.    It 
is  au  ideal  rookery  ground,  as  the  slight  mortality  of  pups  indicates,  only  about  109 
dead  pups  being  found  in  189C  in  a  total  of  6,049.    The  hauling  ground  of  this 
rookery  is  unimportant,  probably  because  the  bachelors  haul  out  with  those  from 
Lukanin.    The  few  which  haul  out  at  Kitovi  proper  are  found  at  the  southern  end  of 
the  rookery,  back  of  Kitovi  Bay.    Kitovi   and  Lukanin   are  in  reality  one  great 
rookery.    They  represent  a  total  population  of  about  25,000  seals. 

6.  Reef  (Russian,  rifovoye). — At  the  southern  end  of  St.  Paul  Island  another  long 
narrow  neck  of  land  juts  out,  known  as  Beef  peninsula.    On  the  southern  shore  of  this 
peninsula  is  the  great  breeding  ground  known  as  Beef  rookery.    The  harems  lie  along 
the  irregular  beach  for  a  distance  of  nearly  a  mile.    In  the  central  portion  the  seals 
extend  back  in  long,  wedge  shaped  masses  for  a  considerable  distance  over  the  gentle 
slope  strewn  with  large  bowlders. 

In  the  rear  of  the  central  portion  of  this  rookery  is  the  great  hauling  ground, 
which  lies  in  a  hollow  between  two  rocky  ridges.  Connecting  this  hauling  ground  with 
the  sea  are  four  runways,  which  divide  the  rookery  into  five  large  masses.  In  two  of 
these  runways  occur  ponds  of  water,  which  fill  by  the  surf  in  the  winter  and  become 
indescribably  foul  in  summer,  as  the  bachelors  wallow  through  them. 

Beef  rookery  is  one  of  the  largest  on  the  islands.  It  is  separated  from  its  fellow 
(Gorbatch)  on  the  other  side  of  the  peninsula  by  a  broad  flat  upland,  known  as  the 
"parade  ground."  This  parade  ground  occupies  the  highest  part  of  the  peninsula. 
It  extends  back  from  the  perpendicular  cliffs  at  the  westward  end  in  a  long  easy  slope 
to  the  eastward,  where  it  falls  to  the  water's  edge  at  the  beginning  of  the  rookery. 

This  space  was  a  favorite  playground  for  the  bachelors  of  the  two  rookeries  in  the 
palmy  days,  and  the  wandering  bands  of  seals  kept  its  surface  bare.  A  few  bachelors 
still  haul  across  it,  but  for  the  most  part  it  is  to-day  overgrown  with  grass  and  weeds. 

7.  Sivutch  (sea  lion)  Rock. — About  a  third  of  a  mile  off  shore  from  Beef  rookery 
is  a  small  crescent-shaped  rocky  islet.     Its  southern  side  is  an  abrupt  cliff,  but  to  the 


THE    ROOKERIES    OF    ST.    PAUL.  39 

north  it  slopes  back  gradually  to  the  water.  This  northern  slope  and  such  other 
points  on  its  surface  as  are  accessible,  are  occupied  by  a  small  rookery  of  three  or  four 
thousand  seals.  At  either  end  of  the  islet  is  a  hauling  ground.  On  the  southernmost 
one  the  returning  bachelors  are  said  to  haul  out  first  in  the  spring. 

Six  miles  farther  off  to  the  south  lies  the  larger  islet  called  Otter  Island.  This 
is  not  a  rookery  proper,  but  contains  a  hauling  ground,  and  is  resorted  to  by  bachelors, 
probably  from  the  rookeries  of  Eeef  peninsula.  A  few  seals  still  haul  there,  and 
during  the  season  of  1896  a  single  harem  of  five  cows  with  their  pups  was  found 
among  them.  This  is  the  first  record  of  breeding  seals  having  occupied  Otter  Island. 
~$o  trace  of  the  harem  was  found  during  the  season  of  1897.  The  hauling  ground, 
which  lies  on  the  northern  face  of  the  island,  is  one  of  considerable  extent,  and  in 
former  times  a  large  number  of  seals  evidently  occupied  it.  About  200  were  found 
there  at  the  time  of  our  visit  in  1896,  and  upward  of  a  thousand  in  1897. 

8.  Ardiyuen  (pile  of  stones). — On  the  western  edge  of  Eeef  peninsula,  and  just 
north  of  the  ultimate  point,  is  an  isolated  concave  rocky  slope  and  beach  overlooked 
by  high  parapet-like  cliffs,  above  the  general  level  of  Keef  rookery,  to  the  surface  of 
which  the  breeding  ground  ascends  at  one  point  in  a  "slide."    The  rocky  beach,  the 
slide,  and,  in  1896,  a  part  of  the  flat  above  were  filled  with  harems.     Other  harems 
extended  along  the  narrow  beach  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff,  which  everywhere  rises  sheer 
from  the  western  end  of  the  peninsula.     The  wall-like  rocks  above  the  slide  portion  of 
the  rookery  make  it  possible  to  watch  the  seals  at  close  range  without  disturbing  them. 
It  is  the  best  point  on  the  island  for  the  observation  of  rookery  life.     Almost  daily 
observations,  a  record  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  Daily  Journal  (Part  II),  were  made 
upon  it  during  the  summer  of  1896,  and  on  this  account  it  has  been  given  a  separate 
name.    It  has  heretofore  been  included  in  Keef  rookery. 

9.  Grorbatch  (the  hump). — This  picturesque  rookery  lies  on  the  north  shore  of  Eeef 
peninsula  and  faces  Zoltoi  Bay.    The  steep  cliffs  on  the  western  end,  at  Gorbatch 
Point,  break  down  in   a  long  cinder  slope,  which  rises  rather  steeply  from  the 
shingle  beach  to  the  parade  ground  above.    Along  the  bowlder  beach  and  the  foot 
of  the  slope  the  harems  lie  close  together,  extending  back  at  one  or  two  points  in 
wedge-shaped  masses.     On  the  flat  rocks  at  the  point  marking  the  beginning  of  the 
bay  is  a  favorite  sleeping  place  for  a  few  sea  lions,  and  near  by  is  an  isolated  rock  on 
which  a  small  group  of  hair  seals  are  usually  to  be  seen  hauled  out. 

To  the  northward  the  cinder  slope  shades  into  a  slope  of  smooth  rock,  and  this  is 
succeeded  in  turn  by  a  slope  covered  with  great  irregular  bowlders.  At  the  end  of 
this  an  abrupt  cliff  begins,  and  the  rookery  terminates  in  a  long  belt  of  harems  on  the 
narrow  beach  at  its  foot.  At  the  angle,  where  the  cliff  breaks  down  suddenly  into 
the  sand  beach  of  the  bay,  is  the  famous  hauling  ground  known  as  Zoltoi,  (golden) 
(more  correctly  spelled  Zolotoi),  from  its  yellowish  lava  sands.  This  is  the  only 
hauling  ground  for  Gorbatch  rookery,  and  in  the  days  when  the  shores  of  the  Eeef 
rookery  were  packed  with  harems  it  was  practically  the  only  hauling  ground  for  the 
two  rookeries.  Across  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  which  is  here  very  narrow,  is  a  small 
cove-like  beach  frequented  by  bachelors,  probably  from  the  Eeef  rookery. 

The  nearness  of  Zoltoi  to  the  village  (about  one-fourth  of  a  mile  away)  has  brought 
its  herds  under  constant  inspection.  The  earliest  and  latest  drives  are  always  made 
from  this  point. 


40  THE    FUR    SEALS    OP   THE    PRII3ILOF    ISLANDS. 

Beef  and  Gorbatch  rookeries  are  in  reality  one  great  breeding  ground.  They 
represent  a  total  population,  including  Ardiguen  and  Sivutch  Rock,  of  about  70,000 
seals. 

10.  Spilki  (the  points}. — This  is  the  abandoned  rookery  space,  which  formerly* 
occupied  the  slope  and  beach  of  the  hill  back  of  the  village  of  St.   Paul.    The 
ground  was  occupied  until  about  ten  years  ago  as  a  rookery,  when  it  was  gradually 
abandoned. 

11.  Lagoon. — This  rookery  is  separated  from  the  site  of  Spilki  by  a  short  stretch 
of  sand  beach  and  the  narrow  channel  connecting  the  salt  lagoon  with  the  village 
cove.     It  is  situated  on  a  long  reef  of  coarse  bowlders,  which  has  been  gradually 
pushed  up  by  the  ice  until  it  has  almost  completely  shut  off  the  lagoon  from  the  sea. 
The  rookery  is  a  small  one,  having  a  population  of  only  about  0,000  seals.     There  is 
a  small  hauling  ground  on  the  rear  or  lagoon  side  of  the  reef,  but  no  drives  are  made 
from  it. 

12.  Tolstoi  (thick). — From  the  angle  of  the  reef  on  which  Lagoon  rookery  is  located 
the  cliffs  rise  abruptly,  leaving  but  little  beach.    At  the  bold  point  of  Tolstoi  Mys 
or  headland  the  rookery  of  this  name  begins,  extending  along  the  southern  curve  of 
English  Bay  to  the  great  sand  beach  at  its  foot.    For  «<i  considerable  distance  the 
harems  lie  on  the  narrow  beach  at  the  foot  of  steep  cliffs.    About  the  middle  of  the 
rookery  the  cliffs  break  down  in  a  long  concave  slope  strewn  with  angular  bowlders. 
Back  of  this  are  sand  dunes,  and  the  wash  from  them  has  produced  at  the  foot  of 
the  slope  a  broad  sand  flat  just  above  the  bowlder  beach. 

This  sand  tract  of  Tolstoi  has  a  denser  population  than  is  to  be  found  on  any  other 
rookery  ground  on  the  island.  In  the  height  of  the  season  the  crowded  area  is  the 
scene  of  constant  fighting  among  the  bulls  because  of  the  crowding  of  the  harems. 
The  breeding  mass  extends  part  way  up  the  slope,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season 
the  seals  move  back  from  the  sandy  flat,  leaving  it  bare. 

At  the  back  of  the  slope  among  the  sand  dunes  is  a  hauling  ground  for  the 
bachelors.  To  reach  it  they  must  encircle  the  end  of  the  rookery.  A  more  important 
hauling  ground  is  situated  on  the  sand  of  English  Bay,  just  beyond  the  rookery. 
Halfway  along  the  curve  of  the  bay  is  another  hauling  ground,  known  as  Middle  Hill, 
which  is  removed  from  any  rookery  and  is  probably  more  or  less  common  to  all  the 
breeding  grounds  about  English  Bay. 

On  the  whole  Tolstoi  is  the  most  interesting  of  the  rookeries,  and  offers  the 
greatest  diversity  of  conditions  of  life.  It  is  also  famous  for  the  great  mortality 
among  the  young  pups  born  there.  The  view  of  the  rookery  from  the  sand  dunes 
to  the  eastward  is  exceedingly  picturesque. 

13.  Zapadni   (westerly). — This  rookery,  begins   at  the  rocky  cliffs   of  Zapadni 
headland  and  extends  along  the  convex  shore  to  the  sand  beach  of  Southwest  Bay. 
It  occupies  the  usual  bowlder  beach  and  extends  back  along  the  gradually  sloping 
upland.    The  seals  are  in  many  places  massed  in  shallow  depressions  and  gullies 
which  seam  the  rocky  slope.     In  these  places,  as  on  the  sand  flat  of  Tolstoi,  many 
pups  are  killed.    At  different  places  in  the  course  of  the  rookery  are  runways  through 
which  the  bachelors  haul  out  to  their  grounds  in  the  rear.     The  principal  hauling 
ground,  however,  is  at  the  angle  of  the  rookery  with  the  sand  beach  of  Southwest  Bay. 

14.  Little  Zapadni. — The  sand  beach  of  Southwest  Bay  intervenes  between  this 
rookery  and  Zapadui  proper.     It  occupies  a  similar  but  smaller  convex  beach  and 


UNIVERSITY  j 
^S 


THE    ROOKERIES    OF    ST.    GEORGE.  41 

hillslope  toward  the  east.  The  surface  of  this  little  rookery  is  rugged  and  broken  in 
the  extreme,  making  it  an  ideal  breeding  ground.  At  its  eastern  end  is  the  single 
hauling  ground,  reached  through  the  open  space  that  lies  between  this  and  the 
narrow  breeding  ground  which  occupies  the  reef  beyond. 

15.  Zapadni  Reef. — This  rookery  lies  on  a  reef  of  bowlders  similar  to  that  occupied 
by  Lagoon  rookery.     The  harems  are  grouped  in  scattered  patches  along  the  narrow, 
rocky  beach.     At  the  end  of  the  reef  is  a  large  hauling  ground  which  is  also  more  or 
less  common  to  the  younger  bachelors  from  the  three  Zapadni  rookeries.     Here  the 
sand  beach  of  English  Bay  begins,  which  stretches  around  to  Tolstoi  rookery. 

These  three  breeding  grounds  were  originally  one,  but  the  decrease  of  the  herd 
has  so  separated  them  as  to  make  it  advisable  to  give  them  distinct  names.  Their 
combined  herd  is  next  in  size  to  that  of  "Reef  Peninsula,  having  about  60,000  seals  of 
all  classes. 

At  a  considerable  distance  above  Zapadni  headland  is  an  isolated  hauling  ground 
for  the  older  bachelors  and  half  bulls,  known  as  Southwest  Point.  A  few  still  haul 
out  there,  and  a  hair-seal  rookery  is  situated  on  an  islet  offshore.  The  place  probably 
never  contained  a  breeding  rookery. 

16.  Maruniclien  (personal  name}. — This  is  an  abandoned  rookery  ground  on  North 
Shore.     It  was  never  an  important  rookery,  and  has  long  been  deserted.     The  oldest 
inhabitant  of  the  village  of  St.  Paul  simply  remembers  hearing  it  spoken  of  when  he 
was  a  boy.     No  cause  was  assigned  for  its  abandonment.     A  herd  of  hair  seals  haul 
out  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  old  rookery. 

THE   ST.    GEORGE   ROOKERIES. 

The  rookeries  of  St.  George  are  five  in  number.  They  are  smaller  and  less 
important  than  those  of  St.  Paul,  containing  only  about  one-sixth  of  the  total  number 
of  seals  on  the  two  islands.  On  account  of  the  rugged  character  of  the  coast  line  of 
St.  George  its  rookery  space  is  limited  and  the  conditions  less  varied.  The  harems  lie 
chiefly  along  broken  cliffs,  on  basaltic  columns,  and  bowlder-strewn  slopes.  Four  of 
the  rookeries  are  grouped  on  the  northern  face  of  the  island,  while  the  fifth  lies 
isolated  on  the  southwestern  corner.  Beginning  Avith  this  last  rookery,  the  following 
is  a  brief  account  of  the  breeding  grounds  of  St.  George  Island: 

1.  Zapadni  (westerly). — This  rookery  lies  along  the  rocky  beach  of  Zapadni  Bay," 
ascending  the  slope  of  the  long  hill  Avhere  the  harems  are  located  on  flat  benches  of 
rock.     A  part  of  the  beach  line  lies  at  the  foot  of  the  cliff  formed  by  the  breaking  off 
of  the  hill.     In  the  rear  of  the  lower  or  beach  portion  is  the  hauling  ground  of  the 
rookery,  reached  by  two  breaks  in  the  mass  of  breeding  seals  and  extending  inland 
some  distance. 

2.  Staraya  Artel  (old  guild). — This  is  a  very  picturesque  rookery,  lying  in  a  narrow 
belt  along  the  steep  slope  of  a  hill  which  breaks  off  in  an  abrupt  cliff  on  the  seaward 
side.    The  beach  at  the  foot  of  the  rookery  is  a  limited  one,  and  the  lower  harems  are 
situated  on  shelf-like,  rocky  projections  which  gradually  shade  into  the  even  surface  of 
the  hill  slope,  on  which  the  harems  are  closely  massed.     The  hauling  ground  of  the 
rookery  lies  in  the  hollow  formed  by  the  inward  sweep  of  the  hill.     In  the  hollow  is  a 
small  pond,  once  a  lagoon,  which  the  reef-like  beach  has  cut  off.     Over  this  beach  the 
bachelors  haul  out  and  lie  on  the  bank  of  the  pond. 


42  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

3.  North  (Russian,  severnoye}. — This  is  the  largest  of  the  rookeries  of  St.  George. 
It  is  located  about  midway  between  Staraya  Artel  and  the  village  of  St.  George.     The 
rookery  is  the  nearest  one  to  the  village,  and  therefore  well  adapted  for  observation. 
It  lies  throughout  the  greater  part  of  its  length  on  the  narrow  beach  at  the  foot  of 
perpendicular  cliffs.     Througli  occasional  slides  or  breaks  in  the  cliff  wall  the  harems 
draw  back  to  the  hill  slope  behind.    The  bachelors  have  runways  at  both  ends  of  the 
rookery  o-nd  occupy  the  flat  ground  above  and  behind  the  cliffs. 

4.  Little  East. — This  is  a  rather  small  collection  of  harems  located  on  the  broken 
slope  formed  by  the  breaking  down  of  the  cliffs,  which  from  the  village  landing 
eastward  to  this  point  rise  perpendicularly.     From  this  point  the  cliff  curves  inland 
in  a  gradual  slope,  to  appear  again  beyond  east  rookery  at  the  eastern  angle  of  the 
island.    The  small  hauling  ground  of  the  rookery  is  located  at  the  eastern  end.     Little 
East  rookery  resembles  Little  Polovina  rookery  of  St.  Paul  Island  both  in  size  and  in 
its  relation  to  the  larger  rookery  of  which  it  is  a  branch. 

5.  East. — From  Little  East  rookery  for  a  considerable  distance  to  the  eastward 
the  beach  is  low,  and  behind  it  lies  a  level  plain  covered  with  seal  grass,  and  evidently 
once  hauled  over  by  bachelors  from  both  rookeries.     East  rookery  begins  in  a  long 
line  of  scattering  harems  occupying  the  rocky  beach.     At  the  angle  where  the  cliffs 
resume,  the  harems  are  massed  together  on  the  slope  and  along  the  narrow  bowlder 
beach  until  cut  off  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  cliff. 

The  hauling  ground  of  East  rookery  is  in  the  rear  of  the  first  beach  portion,  and 
is  reached  by  several  breaks  in  the  line  of  harems.  Along  the  beach  portion  of  East 
rookery  the  sea  lions  also  haul  out  and  lie  among  the  fur  seals,  and  at  the  point  is  a 
small  rookery  located  among  the  fur-seal  harems.  A  larger  and  more  important  sea- 
lion  rookery  is  located  on  the  southern  side  of  St.  George  Island  toward  Garden  Cove. 


YOUNG  MALE  SEA  LION. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  FUR  SEAL  OR  "SEA  BEAR." 

ITS  RELATIVES. 

The  fur  seals,  with  their  associates,  the  walruses  aud  sea  lions,  constituting  the 
suborder  Gressigrada*  (Allen),  are  obviously  related  to  the  bears.  The  animals 
comprising  this  group,  among  other  characters,  have  plantigrade  feet,  the  anterior 
limbs  modified  as  oars,  and  with  rudimentary  claws,  if  any.  The  posterior  limbs 
bend  forward  at  the  knee  and  the  long,  webbed  toes  extend  beyond  the  claws.  Only 
the  anterior  limbs  are  used  ill  swimming.  The  head  and  neck  can  be  elevated  as 
in  the  bear,  and  the  external  ear  is  moderately  developed.  The  animal  can  run  or 
lope  along  the  ground  as  do  ordinary  mammals,  and  with  considerable  rapidity. 

THE  SEA  BEAR  AND  TRUE  SEAL. 

Much  misconception  as  to  the  nature  and  habits  of  the  fur  seals  has  arisen  from 
their  supposed  resemblance  to  the  animals  in  the  .North  Atlantic  and  elsewhere, 
called  "  seals."  The  fur  seal,  however,  has  no  close  affinity  with  the  suborder 
Pinnipedia,  to  which  the  true  or  earless  seals  belong.  The  various  forms  of  true  or 
hair  seals  constituting  the  group  Pinuipedia  have  the  feet  not  truly  plantigrade,  short, 
with  long  claws.  Only  the  posterior  limbs  are  used  in  swimming,  and  these  are  not 
susceptible  of  bending  forward  at  the  knee.  The  animal,  therefore,  can  not  walk  or 
lope  at  all,  and  only  wriggles  while  on  land.  Its  neck  is  sbort  and  it  can  scarcely 
raise  its  head.  It  has  no  external  ear. 

The  internal  structures  of  the  animals  show  equally  marked  differences.  The  hair 
seals,  whatever  their  origin,  must  come  from  a  different  parent  stock,  and  their 
relation  to  land  carnivora  is  more  remote.  Beyond  the  fact  that  both  fur  seal  and  hair 
seal  are  carnivorous  mammals,  feeding  on  fish  and  adapted  for  life  in  the  water,  the 
two  types  have  little  in  common.  In  both  species  the  thick  blubber  under  the  skin 
goes  with  the  life  in  cold  water.  The  resemblances  associated  with  aquatic  habitat  are 
only  analogies  and  have  no  value  in  scientific  classification.  In  structure,  appearance, 
habits,  disposition,  and  method  of  locomotion,  they  are  entirely  distinct,  and  their 
evolution  as  pelagic  animals  has  been  along  separate  lines. 

THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  ANTARCTIC. 

The  fur  seals  of  the  world  belong  to  two  distinct  groups  or  genera,  closely  related 
to  the  sea  lions.  One  of  these,  the  genus  Arctoceplialm,  is  widely  distributed  over  the 
Antarctic  oceans,  where  its  members  formerly  existed  in  vast  numbers  along  portions 
of  the  coasts  of  South  America,  South  Africa,  Australia,  and  New  Zealand,  as  well 


*  Called  Remipedia  in  our  preliminary  report,  page  12,  but  tbe  name  (Iressigrada  is  earlier  and 

includes  the  same  forms. 

43 


44  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

as  many  of  the  pelagic  islands  of  the  Antarctic  regions.*  Perhaps  the  most  northern 
extent  ot  this  genus  is  the  herd  which  formerly  existed  in  considerable  numbers  on 
Guadalupe  Island,  and  other  islands  in  its  vicinity,  where  a  remnant  probably  still 
breed  hidden  in  the  caves  and  recesses  of  their  shores. 

THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  NORTH  PACIFIC. 

The  fur  seals  of  the  North  Pacific  belong  to  the  second  group,  the  genus  Callo- 
rhinus.  It  is  resident  upon  certain  barren  and  rocky  islands  in  Bering  Sea  and  the 
Sea  of  Okhotsk,  unknown  to  aboriginal  man,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  aware,  never 
visited  by  man  before  the  discovery  of  the  Koinandorski  Islands  by  Vitus  Bering  in 
1741  and  the  Pribilof  Islands  by  Gerassim  Pribilof  in  1786.  In  addition  to  the 
Komandorski  and  Pribilof  islands,  seals  of  the  genus  Callorhinus  also  occupy  certain 
islands  of  the  Kuril  group,  and  also  the  rocky  islet  known  as  Itobbeu  Eeef,  off  the 
coast  of  Saghalin. 

STELLER'S  ACCOUNT. 

Our  first  knowledge  of  the  fur  seals  of  the  North  comes  .from  the  account  of  Georg 
Wilhelin  Steller  (1709-1745),  a  German  naturalist,  who  accompanied  Bering  on  the 
voyage  which  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  Komandorski  Islands.  During  the 
winter  which  the  survivors  of  the  ill  fated  St.  Peter  spent  on  Bering  Island,  Stellor 
visited  the  south,  or  Poludinnoye  rookery  of  this  island  and  wrote  an  account  t  of  the 
fur  seals  or  "sea  bears"  as  he  called  them. 

On  Steller's  description  of  the  "sea  bear"(tVsws  marinus)  of  Bering  Island, 
Linnreus  based  his  description  of  Phoca  nrsina,  or  the  bear-like  seal.  From  the 
Linnjean  name  the  fur  seal  of  the  Forth  Pacific  came  to  be  called  Callorhinus  ursinus, 
the  type  of  the  species  being  the  Komandorski  herd. 

THE  THREE  HERDS. 

The  fur  seals  of  the  North  Pacific  comprise  three  distinct  herds,  which  do  not 
intermingle  in  any  way,  having  distinct  breeding  grounds,  feeding  grounds,  and 
routes  of  migration. 

THE  PRIBILOF  HERD. 

The  most  important  of  the  three  herds  is  that  which  resorts  to  the  Pribilof  Islands. 
These  breed  upon  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  during  the  summer,  and  in 
winter  pass  down  through  the  channels  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  into  the  Pacific  Ocean 
in  their  migrations  reaching  as  far  south  as  the  coast  of  southern  California  and 
returning  along  the  west  coast  of  North  America. 

THE  KOMANDORSKI  HERD. 

The  next  herd  in  importance  is  that  resorting  to  the  Komandorski  Islands.  These 
breed  upon  the  islands  of  Bering  and  Medni,  passing  in  winter  down  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  Japan  and  returning  by  the  same  route. 


*A  full  account  of  the  southern  far  seals  will  be  found  in  Part  III  of  this  report. 
t  A  translation  of  Steller's  account  will  be  found  in  Part,  III  of  this  report. 


THE    SUBSPECIES    OF    FUR    SEAL.  45 

THE  ROBBEN  ISLAND  HERD. 

The  third  herd  is  resident  in  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  on  Kobben  Island,  where  a 
considerable  remnant  still  exists,  and  formerly  occupied  other  rookeries,  now  virtually 
extinct,  on  four  islands  of  the  Kuril  group — Musir,  Eaikoke,  Srednoi,  and  Broughton. 
The  migration  route  of  this  herd  lies  in  the  inland  sea  of  Japan. 

THREE  DISTINCT  SPECIES. 

The  fact  that  the  seals  of  the  Pribilof  herd  differ  from  those  of  the  Commander 
Islands  in  color,  in  form,  and  in  character  of  the  fur  has  long  been  recognized.  These 
differences,  though  slight,  are  permanent  and  constant.  As  no  intermediate  forms 
are  known,  and  as  the  life  courses  of  the  herds  are  wholly  distinct,  apparently  no 
intermediate  forms  can  exist.  We  may  therefore  hold  that  the  herds  represent 
distinct  species.  As  the  Komandorski  seals  formed  the  type  of  Callorhinus  ursinus, 
the  Pribilof  seals  may  be  taken  to  represent  a  new  species,  to  which  the  name 
Callorhinus  alascanus  may  be  given,  and  the  Eobben  Island  herd,  likewise  different, 
may  be  called  Callorhinus  curilensis. 

CALLORHINUS  ALASCANUS. 

The  description  of  this  new  species  or  subspecies  is  given  in  full  in  a  special  paper 
which  appears  in  Part  III.  It  may  be  noted  here  that  alascanus  may  be  known  by  the 
stouter,  broader  head,  by  the  thicker  neck,  by  the  prevalence  of  warm,  brown  shades 
in  the  coloration  of  the  females  and  the  young  males,  by  the  more  silvery  color  of  the 
gray  pups,  which  have  the  whitish  patches  on  the  rump  less  than  in  ursinus.  In 
general  it  shows  a  lack  of  sharp  contrast  between  the  coloration  of  the  sides  and  belly. 
The  fur  is  of  superior  quality  and  exhibits  sufficient  difference  to  make  it  possible  for 
the  dealers  handling  the  skins  to  distinguish  them  by  this  means  alone.  In  alascanus 
the  claws  on  the  foreflipper  are  undeveloped,  being  represented  by  pits  in  the  skin. 

CALLORHINUS  URSINUS. 

The  true  ursinus  has  a  slenderer  head  and  neck.  The  females  and  young  males 
are  sooty  rather  than  brown,  the  light  and  dark  shades  being  alike  for  the  most  part 
without  ochraceous  tints.  The  belly  is  usually  rather  sharply  paler  than  the  back, 
and  the  gray  pup  is  more  brownish  and  less  gray  than  in  the  Pribilof  animal,  having 
a  pale  patch  on  each  side  of  the  rump.  The  fore  feet  have  two  or  three  rudimentary 
claws. 

CALLORHINUS  CURILENSIS. 

The  seal  of  Eobben  Island  and  the  Kurils,  differs  from  both  of  the  foregoing  in 
the  whitish  color  of  the  under  fur.  This  is  rusty  brown  in  ursinus  and  alascanus.  It 
is  said  also  to  have  a  broader  head  than  ursinus  and  to  exhibit  other  differences  in 
the  quality  of  the  fur,  distinguishing  the  seals  of  Kobben  Island  from  either  of  the 
other  herds. 

In  the  following  discussion  our  attention  will  be  directed  chiefly  to  a  consideration 
of  the  Pribilof  Islands  seals.  In  Part  IV  of  this  report  the  herds  of  the  Komandorski 
and  Kuril  islands  will  be  discussed  in  detail. 


46  THE    FUR    SEALS   OP    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  NOMENCLATURE  OF  THE  FUR  SEAL. 

The  eccentricities  of  the  nomenclature  of  the  fur  seals  have  frequently  been 
noted.  Attention  is  here  called  to  the  matter  merely  to  avoid  confusion.  It  is,  for 
example,  incongruous  that  a  "cow"  should  occupy  a  place  in  a  "harem"  on  a 
"  rookery  "  and  bear  a  "  pup,"  which,  if  a  male,  should  be  known  for  the  first  four 
years-of  its  life  as  a  "bachelor"  and  afterwards  as  a  "bull."  Moreover,  it  is  absurd 
that  this  animal,  which  is  in  reality  more  like  a  bear,  should  be  called  a  "seal,"  thus 
confounding  it  with  a  distinctly  different  animal.  But  these  names  are  all  so  closely 
identified  with  the  animals  and  their  history  that  it  is  useless  to  attempt  to  change 
them,  and  so  we  may  expect  the  "sea  bears"  of  the  North  Pacific  to  continue  to 
produce  "seal  skins,"  which,  though  originally  and  properly  taken  only  on  land,  will 
remain  the  product  of  a  "fishery." 

The  Russian  names  "sikatch"  (grown  bull),  "polosikatch"  (half  bull),  "holostiak" 
(bachelor),  "matka"  (mother),  and  "kotik"  (pup)  are  in  common  use  among  the 
Aleuts  on  the  Pribilof  and  Komandorski  islands.  These  words  form  their  plurals 
in  i,  thus:  sikatchi,  holostiaki.  The  Aleut  names  "atagh"  or  "adakh"  (bull), 
"enuatha"  (cow),  "  lakutha"  (pup)  are  now  used  mainly  by  the  native  children. 

THE  CATEGORIES  OF  SEALS. 
THE  MALE. 

The  male  fur  seal  or  bull  reaches  full  maturity  at  the  age  of  about  7  years. 
He  is  probably  sexually  mature  at  an  earlier  age,  but  does  not  possess  the  strength 
and  courage  necessary  to  win  and  hold  a  place  on  the  breeding  grounds.  The  weight 
of  the  adult  bull  is  about  350  to  450  pounds.  A  typical  animal  measures  about  6  feet 
in  length,  has  a  girth  over  the  shoulders  of  about  4£  feet,  and  measures  nearly  C 
feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  outstretched  fore-flippers.  In  color  the  adult  males  vary 
considerably,  the  general  shade  being  blackish  or  dark  brown,  with  longer  hairs 
or  bristles  of  yellowish  white.  These  are  especially  long  and  numerous  on  the 
thickened  back  of  the  neck,  forming  the  so  called  "  wig."  The  bulls  are  excessively 
fat  on  their  landing  in  the  spring,  but  grow  gradually  lean  and  thin  during  the  season 
on  land,  never  tasting  food  or  leaving  their  posts  during  the  breeding  season.  Early 
observers  made  use  of  the  appropriate  name  of  "beach master"  for  the  bull,  a  name 
which  deserves  to  be  retained  for  its  descriptive  qualities. 

THE  FEMALE. 

The  female  fur  seal  or  cow  is  much  smaller  than  the  male.  When  fully  grown  she 
measures  about  4  feet  in  length,  has  a  girth  of  2£  feet  over  the  shoulders,  and  measures 
4  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  the  outstretched  fore-flippers.  The  cow  has  a  soft,  smooth 
fur  of  varying  shades  of  grey,  the  younger  females  being  usually,  though  not 
always,  silvery  white  underneath  the  throat.  The  cow  bears  her  first  offspring  at 
the  age  of  3  years,  but  her  full  growth  is  not  attained  until  a  year  or  two  later. 
Her  average  weight  is  about  70  pounds.  The  name  "clap-match,"  used  by  early 
explorers  to  designate  the  female,  is  now  obsolete. 

THE   BACHELOR. 

The  young  male  or  bachelor  is  very  similar  to  the  female  in  color,  size,  and 
appearance  until  the  end  of  the  third  year.  In  this  year  his  skin  is  at  its  best.  In 


A  "POD"   OF   PUPS  ON   LUKANIN    ROOKERY,   SAINT   PAUL  ISLAND. 


OF  THX 

tTNIVERSITT 


FUR  SEAL  PUP. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams. 


HEAD  OF  FUR  SEAL  PUP. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams 


HEAD  OF  FEMALE  FUR  SEAL. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams. 


HEAD  OF  A  TYPICAL  ROOKERY  BULL. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams. 


A  TYPICAL  ROOKERY  BULL. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams. 


THE  MIGRATIONS  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS.  47 

the  fourth  year  his  iieck  begins  to  thicken  and  develop  the  "wig."    After  the  wig  has 
appeared  the  skin  depreciates  in  value,  until  in  the  adult  bull  it  has  no  value  as  fur. 

THE  HALF   BULL. 

In  the  fifth  and  sixth  years  the  young  male  grows  rapidly,  and  in  size  and 
appearance  approximates  the  adult  bull,  but  lacks  his  strength  and  courage.  He 
is  then  known  as  a  "half  bull."  The  males  under  7  years  of  age  are  not  allowed  on 
the  rookeries,  though  they  hang  about  the  rear  and  in  the  water  in  front  of  them. 
The  bachelors  are  forced  to  herd  by  themselves  in  separate  bauds  on  the  hauling 
grounds. 

THE   IDLE  BULL. 

In  addition  to  the  half  bulls  there  is  a  class  of  males  called  "idle"  or  "reserve" 
bulls.  These  are  in  no  way  different  from  the  breeding  bulls,  but  on  account 
of  the  lateness  of  their  arrival,  the  unfavorableness  of  their  location,  or  because  of 
defeat  in  battle,  they  have  been  unsuccessful  in  securing  harems.  They  take  up  their 
places  in  the  rear  of  the  breeding  grounds,  or  as  near  to  them  as  they  can  get,  and 
there  they  fight  among  themselves,  watching  for  opportunities  to  invade  the  harems  of 
their  more  successful  rivals,  and  occasionally  forming  small  harems  by  capture.  Late 
in  the  season  the  idle  bulls  succeed  to  the  posts  vacated  by  the  departing  harem 
masters  and  take  charge  of  the  late  arriving  cows  and  the  2-year  olds. 

THE   YEARLINGS  AND   VIRGINS. 

The  seals  of  1  year  old  of  both  sexes  are  known  as  yearlings.  There  is  no  marked 
difference  between  the  males  and  females  at  this  age.  The  yearling  males  are  found 
in  the  latter  part  of  July  on  the  hauling  grounds  with  the  older  bachelors.  The 
females  come  late  to  the  islands  and  spend  much  of  their  time  on  the  rookeries  among 
the  young  of  the  year.  They  do  not  associate  to  any  considerable  degree  with  their 
brothers  on  the  hauling  grounds.  The  females  of  2  years  old  are  known  as  "virgins," 
and  come  on  the  rookeries  late  in  July  and  early  in  August  to  be  served  by  the  bulls. 

THE  PUP. 

The  young  of  the  fur  seal  or  pup  is  black  in  color  at  birth,  sometimes  with  a 
brownish  strip  under  the  throat  and  with  a  large  whitish  spot  in  the  axil.  Its  weight 
at  birth  is  about  11  pounds,  and  it  is  comparatively  helpless,  though  it  becomes  able 
to  care  for  itself  in  a  short  time.  Its  head  is  large  in  proportion  to  its  body  and 
proves  a  serious  handicap  in  the  early  efforts  of  the  animal  to  learn  to  swim,  an  art 
which  it  does  not  possess  at  birth.  When  the  pup  is  about  3  months  old  it  sheds  its 
black  coat  and  takes  on  a  new  one  of  gray.  By  this  time  it  has  learned  to  swim  well 
and  weighs  25  or  30  pounds. 

THE  MIGRATION  OF  THE  SEALS. 
THEIR   SUMMER  MOVEMENTS. 

In  their  annual  movements  the  seals  of  all  classes  with  few,  if  any,  exceptions  visit 
each  season  the  islands  on  which  their  breeding  grounds  are  situated.    The  earliest    t, 
arrivals  come  about  the  1st  of  May;  the  latest  to  depart  go  some  time  in  December. 


48  THE    FUR    SEALS    OP    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

In  the  interval  the  offices  of  reproduction  are  accomplished.  The  females  come  and 
go  from  the  feeding  grounds  at  intervals,  caring  for  their  young.  The  younger  males 
spend  most  of  their  time  resting  on  the  sand  beaches,  visiting  the  sea  irregularly.  In 
November  the  females  and  young  of  the  year  leave  the  islands.  The  males,  especially 
the  bachelors,  remain  until  December  and  even  January,  in  mild  seasons  probably  not 
all  leaving  the  vicinity  of  the  islands  during  the  winter. 

THE  LIMIT   OF  MIGRATION. 

The  adult  males  and  the  older  bachelors  spend  the  winter  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
somewhat  below  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and  eastward  in  the  Gulf  of  Alaska.  The 
younger  males  go  farther  south.  The  pups  probably  reach  the  latitude  of  Cape  Flat- 
tery. The  adult  females  go  farthest  south,  being  found  as  low  down  as  the  Santa 
Barbara  Channel,  off  southern  California. 

ITS   COURSE  AND  DURATION. 

The  southward  trip  of  the  seals  must  be  rapid  and  more  or  less  direct  to  the 
turning  point.  The  females  do  not  leave  the  islands  much  before  the  middle  ot 
November,  but  are  taken  in  the  latitude  of  southern  California  early  in  December.  On 
the  return  trip  the  movements  of  the  animals  are  slower,  the  remainder  of  the  winter 
and  spring  being  occupied  in  the  northward  journey  along  the  coast,  which  they  follow 
at  a  considerable  distance  offshore.  In  December,  January,  and  February  they  are 
found  off  the  coast  of  California.  They  are  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Flattery  and 
Vancouver  Island  in  March,  April,  and  May;  and  in  May  and  June  they  are  found 
in  the  Gulf  of  Alaska  and  along  the  southern  coast  of  the  Aleutian  Islands.  They 
reach  the  islands  at  various  dates  according  to  the  different  classes  of  animals. 

In  this  outline  of  the  movements  of  the  seals  at  sea  only  the  general  course  of  the 
herd  as  a  whole  is  traced.  A  more  detailed  account  will  be  found  in  connection  with 
the  migration  chart  prepared  by  Mr.  Townsend  and  published  in  Part  III  of  this 
report.  In  Mr.  Lucas's  account  of  the  feeding  habits  of  the  animals,  also  in  Part  III, 
the  movements  of  the  seals  on  their  summer  feeding  grounds  are  more  fully  given. 


CHAPTER    V  . 

THE  DAILY  LIFE  OF  THE  ROOKERIES. 

THE  ARRIVAL  AT  THE  ISLANDS. 
THE  MALES. 

The  adult  males  arrive  first  at  the  islands  in  the  spring.  Their  appearance  is 
governed  largely  by  the  movements  of  the  drift  ice,  which  packs  in  about  the  islands 
late  in  winter  and  remains  until  the  latter  part  of  April,  sometimes  until  late  in  May.* 
In  1895,  when  the  ice  remained  thus  long  about  the  islands,  making  the  landing  of 
the  bulls  difficult,  roads  were  cut  in  it,  through  which  the  animals  hauled  to  reach 
their  stations. 

THE   DATE   OF   THE  EARLIEST   ARRIVALS. 

The  average  date  of  the  landing  of  the  first  bulls,  as  shown  by  the  record  in  the 
log  of  the  islands,  is  about  the  1st  of  May.  Instances  are  recorded  where  the  ani- 
mals have  landed  on  the  ice  and  traveled  in  for  a  mile  or  more,  taking  up  their  places 
on  the  snow-covered  rookeries.  The  incoming  of  the  bulls  is  gradual.  They  appear 
almost  simultaneously  on  all  the  rookeries,  each  being  represented  by  one  or  two.t 
The  number  increases,  slowly  during  the  early  part  of  May,  rapidly  in  the  latter  part. 
By  the  middle  of  June,  practically  all  of  the  regular  harein  bulls  are  located  in  their 
places  on  the  breeding  ground.  During  the  season  of  1897  a  count  of  bulls  on  I^orth 
rookery  of  St.  George,  June  7,  gave  180,  where  196  harems  were  found  later  in  the 
season.  On  Kitovi  rookery  of  St.  Paul,  a  count  of  bulls  made  on  the  12th  of  June 
gave  156,  where  182  harems  existed  in  1896,  and  179  later  in  the  season  of  18974 

THE   OLDEST   COME   FIRST. 

It  is  probable  that  the  earliest  bulls  to  arrive  represent  the  veterans  of  many 
seasons,  and  that  those  arriving  subsequently  come  in  the  order  of  their  ages.  Thus 
the  young  half  bulls  and  the  idle  bulls  as  a  class  do  not  locate  about  the  rookeries 
until  the  time  of  landing  of  the  cows.  They  then  haul  out  around  the  rookeries  to 
places  in  the  rear,  or  fight  their  way  through  the  territory  of  bulls  already  in  place. 
Some  of  them  are  doubtless  successful  in  displacing  earlier  arrivals,  or  in  gaining 
advantageous  places  on  the  breeding  grounds.  The  young  bulls  for  the  most  part 
in  the  beginning  of  the  season  hang  about  the  water  front  and  try  to  intercept  the 
landing  cows.  It  is  only  after  the  breeding  season  is  well  advanced  that  they  are- 
seen  in  numbers  about  the  rear  of  the  rookeries,  and  even  then  they  come  and  go 
from  the  water  more  or  less  regularly. 


*  See  extracts  from  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  May,  1895. 
t  See  extracts  from  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  May  of  any  season. 
j  Daily  Journal,  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  June  12. 

49 
15184 4 


50 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


THE   BACHELORS. 

The  bachelor  seals  begin  to  arrive  at  about  the  same  time  as  the  balls.  Their 
first  appearance  about  St.  Paul  is  usually  on  Sivutch  Eock.  The  average  date  of  the 
first  recorded  food  drives  is  about  the  20th  of  May.*  This,  however,  is  not  the  date 
of  their  first  arrival,  but  the  one  at  which  the  animals  are  out  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
make  a  drive  worth  while. 

The  older  bachelors  come  first.  This  is  shown  by  the  excess  of  older  seals  that 
are  turned  back  in  the  earlier  drives,  and  the  larger  percentage  of  killed  in  the 
number  driven.  This  can  best  be  made  clear  by  citing  the  statistics  showing  the 
animals  rejected,  large  and  small,  and  the  average  per  cent  of  animals  killed,  for  the 
different  dates  during  the  season  of  1897,  on  St.  Paul  Island: 

Statistics  of  killings,  St.  Paul,  1897. ' 


Date. 

Rejected. 

Percent- 
age 
killed. 

Large. 

Small. 

June  15  

144 
130 
556 
402 
376 
288 
107 
229 
301 
355 
97 
140 
216 
391 
ISO 
377 
500 
161 
352 
491 
221 
298 
383 
118 
350 
159 

119 
26 
184 
214 
214 
224 
90 
175 
306 
551 
115 
638 
661 
586 
412 
1,174 
2,047 
698 
1,380 
890 
545 
1,114 
708 
456 
1,440 
376 

0.65 
.67 
.48 
.64 
.57 
.58 
.53 
.63 
.67 
.65 
.68 
.50 
.58 
.53 
.66 
.39 
.34 
.24 
.23 
.27 
.20 
.16 
.20 
.16 
.19 
.15 

18  

23    

26  

30.                          .  ... 

July    1     

2  

5  

6  

8  

9  

12  

14 

16  ..            .... 

17  

19  

22  

23     

24      

26  

27  

29  

30  

31  

Aug.    2  

5  

1  This  record  of  rejected  animals  was,  for  the  most  part,  kept  by  Mr.  John  M.  Morton,  whose  duty  as  Treasury  agent 
required  his  presence  constantly  on  the  killing  field. 

From  this  table  it  is  apparent  that  among  the  rejected  animals  prior  to  July  9, 
those  too  large  for  killing  predominated.  The  large  percentage  of  animals  killed  for 
the  total  number  driven  shows  that  the  greater  proportion  of  the  seals  on  the  hauling 
grounds  at  this  time  were  of  killable  age.  After  July  9  the  smaller  seals  began  to 
predominate,  showing  the  advent  of  the  2-year  olds  and  yearlings.  About  the  same 
relative  number  of  animals  were  killed  in  the  later  drives,  but  owing  to  the  increase 
of  little  seals,  the  percentage  steadily  diminished  from  a  maximum  of  68  per  cent  to  a 
minimum  of  15  per  cent. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF   THE   SEALING  SEASON. 

It  is  not  until  the  1st  of  June  that  the  regular  driving  for  the  quota  begins.  At 
this  time  the  3-year-old  seals,  from  which  the  skins  for  the  quota  as  a  rule  are  taken, 


Log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  May  of  auy  season. 


ARRIVAL    OF    THE    FUR    SEALS. 


51 


begin  to  arrive  as  a  class.  About  the  middle  of  July  the  2-year-old  seals  begin  to 
come  in  numbers,  followed  very  soon  by  the  yearlings,  which  swarm  in  large  numbers 
on  the  hauling  grounds  during  the  latter  part  of  July.  As  the  breeding  season 
advances  the  young  half  bulls,  which  throng  the  earlier  drives,  withdraw  from  the 
hauling  grounds  to  the  water  front  of  the  rookeries  or  take  up  places  in  their  rear. 

The  arrival  of  the  younger  males  in  the  latter  part  of  July  makes  it  advisable  that 
the  driving  for  the  quota  should  be  completed  as  early  in  this  month  as  possible.  In 
the  early  days  of  American  control,  when  the  seals  were  numerous,  the  quota  was,  as 
a  rule,  filled  before  the  20th  of  July. 

THE   ARRIVAL   OF   THE   COWS. 

It  is  about  the  10th  of  June  that  the  adult  cows  begin  to  arrive.*  Their  appear- 
ance, like  that  of  the  adult  bulls,  is  very  gradual.  In  1897  a  cow  appeared  on  East 
rookery  on  June  3;  a  second  cow  joined  her  on  the  7th;  no  others  had  arrived  on 
the  10th.  On  St.  Paul,  the  first  cow  arrived  on  the  10th;  a  second  appeared  on  the 
12th,  and  after  this  date  a  few  could  be  found  at  almost  every  point  where  harems 
were  located  the  previous  season.  So  quietly  did  the  cows  come  in  and  take  their 
places  that,  though  the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  were  kept  under  the  closest  scrutiny,  and 
many  new  cows  were  found  at  each  inspection,  it  was  more  than  a  week  before  the 
landing  of  a  single  cow  could  be  noted. 

THEIR  INCOMING  GRADUAL. 

This  quiet  and  gradual  incoming  of  the  cows  can  best  be  illustrated  by  the  record 
of  the  daily  count  on  Lukauin  rookery : 

Lukanin  rookery,  1897. 


Date. 

COW8 

present. 

1 

13  

1 

14  

3 

15  

5 

16  

6 

17  

11 

18  

19 

19 

25 

20  

37 

2]      .  .     

52 

22         

74 

23    

103 

24  

131 

25  

176 

26  

207 

27            ... 

257 

Thus,  though  cows  began  to  arrive  on  this  rookery  on  the  12th  of  June,  by  the 
27th  of  June  there  was  on  the  half  mile  of  its  shore  front  no  more  than  257  cows.  At 
this  date  few,  if  any,  had  begun  to  go  to  sea.  When  we  contrast  this  number  with 
the  total  of  about  3,000  cows  which  visited  the  rookery  during  the  season,  we  get  some 
idea  of  the  gradual  arrival  of  the  breeding  females.  These  figures  must  also  correct 
the  long  current  notion  that  they  come  in  a  body  or  in  a  succession  of  great  waves. 


*  For  details  of  the  landing  of  the  cows  here  described,  reference  should  be  made  to  the  Daily 
Journal  in  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  June  12,  1897,  and  following. 


52  THE    FUR    SEALS   OF    THE    PKIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

It  is  probable  that  with  the  cows,  as  with  the  bulls,  the  date  of  landing  is  influenced 
by  age,  the  oldest  coming  first.  The  fact  that  the  young  cows  are  first  impregnated 
early  in  August,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  pups  are  born  as  early  as  the  10th  of  June, 
shows  that  there  must  be  a  gradual  recession  of  the  date  of  delivery,  which  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  correspond  to  the  increasing  age  of  the  breeding  animals 
themselves. 

THEIR   ARRIVAL   NOT   THE   OCCASION   OF   FIGHTING. 

The  observations  of  the  season  of  1897  must  also  correct  the  tradition  that  the 
first  appearance  of  the  cows  is  the  signal  for  a  general  battle  among  the  bulls  for  their 
possession.  Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth.  There  was  iu  1807  no  general 
disturbance  at  this  time  nor  during  the  month  of  June.  ]STo  general  recognition  of 
the  arrival  of  the  cows  was  made  by  the  bulls.  The  landing  female  reconnoitercd  the 
shore,  swimming  backward  and  forward  until  she  was  satisfied  of  the  location,  and 
then  landed  on  the  rocks,  being  taken  in  charge  by  the  nearest  bull.  If  the  bull 
discovered  the  landing  cow  and  attempted  to  secure  her,  she  escaped  to  the  water  if 
she  could;  if  not,  she  submitted  to  the  inevitable,  and  took  up  her  place  beside  him. 
Sometimes  the  escaping  cow  was  overtaken  by  the  bull  and  carried  back.  If  the  cow 
escaped,  she  usually  returned  to  the  same  place,  and  in  time  was  located  there. 

THE   MANNER   OF  LANDING. 

This  represented  the  method  of  the  earliest  arrivals.  The  choice  of  the  cow  was 
limited  to  the  place  of  landing.  When  a  bull  once  obtained  a  cow,  his  harem  became 
the  objective  point  for  all  cows  landing  in  its  vicinity.  The  landing  cow  came  in 
quietly  and  took  her  place  among  the  others,  in  most  cases  without  even  the  knowledge 
of  the  bull  whose  circle  she  joined.  When  he  became  aware  of  her  presence,  he  gave 
her  a  cordial  welcome,  taking  occasion  to  round  up  his  harem  and  to  show  the  new 
arrival  marked  attention.  As  a  result  of  this  desire  of  the  cow  to  join  the  crowd, 
it  happened  that  large  harems  were  formed  at  favorite  landing  places  which  grew 
constantly  in  numbers,  though  the  shore  front  on  either  side  remained  for  the  time 
being  entirely  wanting  in  cows.  On  all  the  massed  rookery  portions  this  became  the 
regular  method  of  development. 

MASSED   ROOKERY  FORMATION. 

The  large  mass  of  breeding  seals  on  Tolstoi  sand  flat*  was  originally  a  single 
harem,  which  iu  the  course  of  time  numbered  upwards  of  a  hundred  cows  in  charge  of 
a  single  bull.  So  long  as  the  cows  lay  quietly  resting  before  and  after  the  birth  of 
their  pups  the  single  bull  was  able  to  control  them  all.  But  in  time  the  task  became 
too  great,  and  when  the  cows  began  to  come  in  heat  in  numbers,  he  soon  lost  control 
of  them.  The  idle  bulls  about  him  entered  the  circle.  He  was  unable  to  exclude 
them,  and  in  time  a  large  number  of  bulls  controlled  the  mass  in  common,  apparently 
without  clearly  defined  harems.  With  the  podding  and  scattering  of  the  pups  and 
the  influx  of  new  cows,  the  seals  became  spread  out  over  larger  areas,  and  new  bulls 
were  taken  into  the  circle  until  the  farthest  limit  of  expansion  was  reached. 

What  was  true  for  Tolstoi  was  true  also  for  the  great  breeding  masses  on  the 
other  large  rookeries.  Under  Hutchinson  Hill,  the  great  mass  occupying  this  space 


See  plate  opposite  p.  40. 


OF  THK 

UNIVERSITY 


•  O 

LJ  ^ 

*  s 

rn  O- 


CO     PL, 

d" 


THE    HEIGHT    OF    THE    SEASON. 


53 


was,  on  June  28,  represented  by  four  of  these  monster  harems  located  at  intervals 
along  the  shore  and  projecting  but  slightly  above  the  bowlder  beach.  They  were  then 
on  the  point  of  breaking,  and  already  around  the  edges  were  numbers  of  small  harems 
of  one  or  two  cows  which  had  plainly  been  stolen  from  the  larger  mass.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  days  thereafter  the  disintegration  of  these  abnormal  harems  began,  and 
they  became  broken  up  into  numerous  smaller  families  under  hitherto  idle  bulls.  The 
seals  later  became  spread  back  over  the  entire  flat.  A  similar  course  of  development 
marked  the  formation  of  all  the  large  masses  on  Reef  rookery. 

Where  the  rookeries  occupied  the  narrow  bowlder  beach,  as  on  Kitovi  and  Lukanin, 
Lagoon  or  Gorbatch,  the  distribution  of  the  harems  was  more  regular,  and  when  the 
period  of  scattering  and  fusion  came,  they  were  united  in  a  more  or  less  even  band 
throughout  the  entire  length  of  the  rookery. 

DAILY   ROOKERY  COUNTS. 

With  a  view  of  determining  the  relative  condition  of  the  rookeries  from  day  to 
day,  daily  counts  were  begun  on  Lukanin  and  Kitovi  rookeries  with  the  first  arrival 
of  cows  and  were  kept  up  throughout  the  season,  or  from  June  12  to  July  31.  A  part  of 
the  record  of  these  counts  has  already  been  given  to  illustrate  the  arrival  of  the  cows. 
The  full  record  will  be  found  in  Appendix  I.  The  following  is  a  synopsis  of  the  count 
on  a  part  of  Kitovi  rookery  known  as  the  Amphitheater: 

Synopsis  of  Kitovi  rookery,  1897, 


Date. 

Cows 
present. 

2 
9 
76 

ica 

246 
499 
703 
429 
375 

June 
July 

14... 

21  

20  :  

29  

1 

5  

15 

20      .. 

31  

THE   HEIGHT   OF   THE   SEASON. 

These  counts  show  that  the  population  of  breeding  cows  gradually  increases  from 
the  beginning  of  the  season,  about  June  10,  until  a  climax  is  reached  about  the  middle 
of  July.  It  then  decreases  until  at  the  close  of  the  breeding  season,  about  August  1, 
it  numbers  about  one-half  the  maximum  population  present  at  any  one  time,  or  about 
one-fourth  of  the  actual  rookery  population.  There  is  a  temporary  fluctuation  during 
the  first  ten  days  of  August,  while  the  virgin  2-year-old  cows  are  present  on  the 
rookeries.  For  the  rest  of  the  season  the  adult  population  remains  at  about  the 
point  reached  at  the  end  of  July,  probably  varying  more  or  less  from  day  to  day 
according  to  the  condition  of  the  weather. 

It  had  until  1890  been  currently  believed  that  at  the  period  known  as  the  "height 
of  the  season,"  say  from  July  10  to  20,  rookery  conditions  were  fixed  and  all  or  prac- 
tically all  the  breeding  animals  present.  The  counting  of  pups  in  August  in  189G  first 
dispelled  this  error,  by  showing  that  the  pups  outnumbered  two  to  one  the  breeding 
females  counted  in  the  height  of  the  season. 


54 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


FLUCTUATIONS   OF   POPULATION. 

The  daily  counts  of  the  breeding-  season  of  1897  may  here  again  be  cited  to  give 
an  idea  of  the  real  condition  of  the  rookeries  at  their  maximum.  The  following  figures 
are  for  that  part  of  Kitovi  rookery  called  the  Amphitheater,  which  contained, 
according  to  the  count  of  pups  made  on  August  3.  about  1,245  breeding  females  for 
the  season : 

Amphitheater  of  Kitovi. 


Date. 

Cows 
present. 

July  10  

660 

11  

703 

12  

13  

654 

14    

556 

15  

703 

16  

678 

17  

698 

18  

566 

19  

55C 

20  

429 

Such  is  the  height  of  the  season.  The  actual  count  shows  a  difference  of  G  per 
cent  between  its  beginning  and  its  maximum  and  a  difference  of  38  per  cent  between 
the  maximum  and  its  close,  while  between  two  individual  days  of  the  period  there  is 
as  great  a  difference  as  20  per  cent. 

INCREASE   OF  FAMILIES. 

Nor  is  the  fluctuation  in  individuals  alt  that  is  to  be  noted  in  this  consideration  of 
the  height  of  the  season.  The  following  count  of  harems  on  this  same  breeding 
ground  shows  equally  important  results : 

Amphitheatei-  of  Kitovi,  1897. 


Date. 

Harems. 

1 

20 

3 

30 

10 

July     8                                  

35 

13 

46 

25                               . 

53 

It  is  thus  apparent  that  during  this  tittie  of  supposed  rookery  stability  the 
number  of  harems  underwent  quite  as  marked  a  change  as  did  the  number  of  indi- 
vidual animals  composing  them.  The  daily  observations  of  this  breeding  ground  and 
frequent  photographs  of  its  area  show,  moreover,  that  the  extent  of  ground  occupied 
grew  steadily  from  day  to  day. 

WHAT   THE   HEIGHT   OF   THE   SEASON  MEANS. 

What  the  height  of  the  breeding  season  really  means,  therefore,  is  a  time  in 
rookery  development  when  the  stream  of  incoming  cows  about  equals  the  stream  of 
outgoing  ones.  It  is  the  time  when  the  greatest  number  of  cows  are  actually  present 
at  one  time.  It  marks  the  maximum  of  rookery  development,  which  probably  covers 


FEEDING  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS.  55 

no  more  than  a  single  day.  In  observing  the  rookeries  the  eye  can  not  adjust  itself 
readily  to  the  change,  and  the  result  is  that  the  period  seems  to  comprehend  several 
days. 

From  about  the  10th  or  12th  of  June  onward  new  cows  are  constantly  arriving 
on  the  rookeries.  About  ten  or  twelve  days  after  her  arrival  each  cow  goes  away  to 
feed  for  the  first  time.  The  first  arrivals  and  first  departures  therefore  run  roughly  in 
parallel  lines.  A  disturbing  element  is  brought  in  by  the  return  of  cows  from  feeding 
and  their  subsequent  departure  and  return  at  intervals.  All  these  various  elements 
result  in  a  period  of  apparent  equilibrium  at  about  the  15th  of  July,  which  is  the 
height  of  the  season. 

THE  PERIOD   CURRENTLY  MISUNDERSTOOD. 

That  this  period  of  rookery  development  should  have  been  misunderstood  is  not 
strange,  since  the  matter  was  never  before  tested  by  mathematical  standards. 
Events  in  rookery  life,  though  recurring  by  the  thousands,  are  difficult  of  observation. 
Their  very  multitude  distracts  the  observer.  In  the  summer  of  1897,  at  the  maximum 
period  of  rookery  life,  when  thousands  of  pups  were  being  born,  the  closest  observa- 
tions, extending  at  times  through  nine  hours  a  day,  failed  to  disclose  the  aetual 
birth  of  more  than  a  dozen  pups.  Under  this  same  close  scrutiny  it  was  a  week 
after  the  first  landing  of  cows  before  one  could  be  discovered  in  the  act,  and  a  much 
longer  period  elapsed  before  the  departure  of  one  could  be  observed.  General 
observations  of  the  rookeries  have  therefore  only  relative  value  unless  they  are 
checked  by  figures.  They  can  be  trusted  to  show  large  results,  but  can  not  be  relied 
upon  to  indicate  normal  changes.  To  get  definite  results,  exact  enumerations  and 
minute  observations  are  necessary. 

THE   BIRTH   OF   THE   PUP. 

Within  a  period  of  from  six  to  forty-eight  hours  after  her  arrival  the  cow  gives 
birth  to  her  pup.  After  a  further  period  of  five  to  six  days  she  comes  in  heat  and  is 
served  by  the  bull.  Five  to  six  more  days  pass,  during  which  time  the  pup  grows 
rapidly  and  becomes  able  to  take  care  of  itself;  then  the  mother  goes  to  sea  to 
bathe  and  feed.  Her  first  return  is  possibly  within  three  or  four  days.  Of  her 
subsequent  returns  no  record  has  been  possible,  but  from  the  gradual  decrease  in  the 
number  of  cows  present  after  the  height  of  the  season  is  reached,  it  must  be  inferred 
that  the  time  of  absence  lengthens  as  the  pup  grows  older  and  is  able  to  remain 
longer  without  food.  As  the  cow  does  not  leave  the  harem  until  after  impregnation 
it  necessarily  follows  that  adult  cows  whenever  found  at  sea  are  pregnant. 

TEE  FEEDING   OF   THE   COWS. 

When  the  cows  first  enter  the  water  after  their  long  rest  on  the  shore  they  exhibit 
every  evidence  of  genuine  satisfaction  and  pleasure.  They  do  not  at  once  swim  away, 
but  play  about,  rolling  over  and  over  in  the  water,  scratching  and  rubbing  themselves 
with  their  flippers,  getting  thoroughly  cleaned  from  the  filth  of  the  rookeries.  This 
done,  the  animals  swim  away  to  the  feeding  grounds. 

SWIMMING   SEALS. 

During  the  breeding  season  a  band  of  sleeping,  playing,  or  swimming  seals 
skirts  each  rookery  front.  Some  are  plainly  bachelors,  but  most  are  cows.  This 


56  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

band  of  seals  evidently  represents  the  animals  preparing  to  depart  and  those  just 
arriving.  No  one  ever  sees  a  seal  landing  directly  from  the  sea; -and  one  seldom  sees 
a  seal  leave  the  rookery  to  go  directly  out  to  sea,  though  at  a  distance  from  land,  as 
on  onr  trips  to  Otter  Island,  numbers  of  the  animals  were  seen  going  rapidly  out  to  sea 
and  coming  in  in  the  same  direct  manner.  The  incoming  seal  doubtless  quietly 
joins  the  outer  edge  of  the  group  of  swimming  seals,  becoming  one  of  them  in  their 
motions  and  pastimes,  gradually  working  to  the  shore  when  ready  to  go  on  the  rookery. 
The  departing  seal,  in  like  manner,  evidently  takes  its  place  among  the  swimming 
seals  and  when  ready  slips  away  from  them  on  the  outer  side. 

The  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  seal  on  first  going  into  the  water  to  loiter  and 
enjoy  a  bath  accounts  for  the  delay  of  the  departing  seals;  but  in  case  of  the  arriving 
seal  something  more  definite  must  keep  the  tired  animal,  eager  for  her  hungry  pup, 
from  landing  at  once.  The  reason  for  this  seems  to  lie  in  the  feeding  habits  of  the 
animals.  The  bachelors,  as  has  long  been  noted,  are  never  found  with  food  in  their 
stomachs,  whether  taken  on  first  landing  in  the  spring  or  later  in  the  season.  It  has 
been  erroneously  supposed  on  this  account  that  they  fasted  more  or  less  throughout 
the  season.  In  the  summer  of  1890,  however,  a  large  number  of  cows  were  either 
directly  killed  or  examined  after  accidental  death  and  their  stomachs  also  found  to 
be  devoid  of  food.  Even  the  stomach  of  a  cow  dead  from  choking  on  a  fish  bone  was 
empty.  The  cows  are,  of  course,  absolutely  known  to  feed. 

THE   SEAL   DIGESTS   ITS  FOOD   IN   THE   WATER. 

It  seems  necessary,  therefore,  to  find  some  more  rational  explanation  for  the 
absence  of  food  in  the  stomachs  of  animals  taken  on  land.  This  explanation  seems 
to  be  that  digestion  with  the  fur  seal  is  completed  in  the  water,  and  that  if  not  so 
completed  before  it  reaches  laud,  the  animal  loiters  offshore  until  it  is  accomplished. 
This  explanation  accounts  for  the  empty  stomachs  of  bachelors  as  well  as  cows.  It 
also  explains  the  reason  why  the  cows  do  not  come  directly  on  shore  from  the  sea. 
The  fact  that  digestion  is  thus  accomplished  at  sea  also  accounts  for  the  relatively 
small  amount  of  excrement  to  be  seen  on  the  rookeries  compared  with  the  number  of 
animals.  It  is  voided  at  sea. 

THE  EVIDENCE   OF   THE   PUPS. 

In  the  investigations  regarding  the  feeding  of  pups  carried  on  during  the  fall  of 
1896  some  additional  light  was  thrown  on  this  subject.  Where  the  animals  were 
killed  while  swimming  or  sleeping  in  the  water,  they  were  found  almost  without  excep- 
tion to  be  well  filled  with  milk.  Where  they  were  killed  on  the  rookeries,  they  were 
as  a  rule  empty  or  had  little  milk.  The  conclusion  seems  warranted  that  the  little 
fellows,  after  learning  to  swim  well,  spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  water  after  feeding 
and  come  on  shore  when  hungry  to  await  the  return  of  their  mothers.  That  their 
presence  in  the  water  was  connected  with  the  digestion  of  their  food  was  borne  out  by 
the  fact  that  in  October,  when  hundreds  of  pups  were  playing  and  sleeping  just  off- 
shore from  the  sand  beaches  of  Zoltoi,  Lukanin,  and  English  Bay,  the  sands  were 
strewn  with  pup  excrement  washed  up  by  the  receding  tide,  together  with  the  shells 
and  pebbles. 


S  i 

*    5 

ft 


CO       <D 
CC.       ~ 


°        § 
CO       t* 


THE    FUR-SEAL    HAREM.  57 

THE   FASTING   OF   THE   SEALS. 

It  is  of  course  known  that  the  fur  seals  are  probably  capable  of  abstaining  from 
food  for  greater  or  less  periods.  Thus  the  cows  evidently  do  not  leave  the  rookeries 
on  their  tirst  landing  within  ten  to  twelve  days.  Whether  such  periods  of  abstinence 
from  food  are  regular  or  not,  we  do  not  know;  but  that  the  bachelors  and  cows 
do  not  fast  for  any  considerable  part  of  the  summer  is  plain,  if  for  no  other  reason, 
from  the  fact  that  they  maintain  a  uniform  condition  throughout  the  season,  always 
showing  a  plentiful  supply  of  blubber,  but  appearing  in  no  better  condition  at  one 
time  than  another. 

The  bulls,  on  the  other  hand,  which  do  undoubtedly  fast,  on  coming  ashore  in  the 
early  spring  are  loaded  down  with  blubber,  which  is  gradually  absorbed,  leaving  the 
animal  thin  and  greatly  reduced  by  the  time  the  breeding  season  is  over.  There  is 
abundant  reason  why  the  bulls  should  fast,  for  it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to 
leave  their  places,  and  nature  has  made  provision  for  their  necessities.  A  similar 
provision  seems  to  be  made  for  the  period  of  fasting  which  the  newly  weaned  pup 
must  probably  endure  after  going  to  sea  on  the  winter  migration,  before  it  has  become 
proficient  in  "the  new  art  of  fishing.  During  the  months  of  October  and  November, 
and  up  to  the  time  of  their  departure,  the  pups  grow  excessively  fat. 

THE   HAREM. 

The  unit  of  life  on  the  rookeries  is  the  harem.  The  rookeries  themselves  are 
merely  great  bands  or  masses  of  harems  grouped  together  along  suitable  beaches. 
The  average  size  of  a  harem,  as  found  from  the  enumerations  of  1896  and  1897,  is  about 
thirty  females  to  a  single  bull.  The  minimum  and  maximum  limits  range  from  a 
single  cow  to  150.  The  single  cow  harems  are  formed  generally  in  proximity  to  large 
harems,  and  are  as  a  rule  the  result  of  stealing  on  the  part  of  idle  bulls.  Such  bulls, 
when  the  harem  master's  attention  is  taken  from  his  charges,  rush  in,  seize  and  carry 
off  cows  bodily.  It  is  rarely  that  such  pirate  harems  can  be  made  to  exceed  a 
single  cow,  as  the  animal  must  be  lield  against  her  will,  and  in  the  effort  to  secure  a 
second  the  first  one  usually  escapes.  Sometimes,  however,  through  the  voluntary 
desertion  of  cows  from  the  large  harems,  it  happens  that  these  small  harems  rival  the 
original  ones  in  size  and  are  again  subject  to  pillage  by  other  idle  bulls  still  further 
in  the  rear.  These  small  harems  are  found  chiefly  in  the  rear  of  and  on  the  flanks  of 
the  large  breeding  masses,  such  as  on  Tolstoi.  Eeef,  and  Vostochni. 

LARGE   HAREMS. 

The  excessively  large  harems  are  the  result  of  accident  or  favorableness  of  loca- 
tion rather  than  strength  or  prowess  in  the  bulls.  They  are  to  be  found  in  isolated 
stations  and  where  peculiar  angles  and  turns  of  the  breeding  ground  hem  them  in. 
Thus  on  Gorbatch  rookery  a  large  bull  held  in  his  charge  a  group  of  150  cows  for  a 
week  or  ten  days.*  When  allowance  is  made  for  absentees,  this  harem  must  have 
numbered  between  200  and  300  cows.  Behind  this  bull  and  his  family  were  a  score 
of  idle  bulls  lying  about  on  the  cinder  slope.  The  secret  of  his  success  lay  simply  in 
the  fact  that  the  harem  occupied  a  triangular  piece  of  ground  bounded  on  two  sides 
by  precipitous  cliffs,  and  it  was  only  necessary  for  the  bull  to  guard  the  neck  of  land 


Daily  Journ.il,  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  July  15,  1897. 


58 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


connecting  with  the  slope.  He,  however,  held  the  cows  only  during  that  period  when 
they  are  quiet  and  resting  after  the  birth  of  their  pups.  When  the  animals  became 
restless  and  demanded  attention  in  numbers,  the  large  mass  was  presently  broken  up 
into  a  number  of  smaller  harems  in  charge  of  the  rival  bulls,  which  could  no  longer 
be  held  in  check. 

HAREM  SIZES. 

But  such  large  harems  were  exceptional,  though  harems  numbering  50  cows  were 
not  so  rare  where  the  conditions  were  favorable.  The  following  is  a  section  of  Kitovi 
rookery,  counted  by  individual  harems,  which  will  give  an  idea  of  the  diversity  in 
their  size : 

A  portion  of  Kitovi  rookery,  July  IS,  1S9G. 


25 

85 

14 

30 

8 

25 

60 

30 

3 

4 

7 

10 

48 

2 

11 

24 

21 

2 

12 

10 

1 

17 

13 

30 

1 

10 

3 

1 

2 

12 

3 

35 

2 

72 

16 

30 

3 

4 

25 

6 

2 

55 

25 

2 

45 

24 

7 

12 

11 

20 

7 

18 

9 

36 

6 

1 

51 

16 

58 

25 

6 

60 

24 

3 

30 

19 

14 

1 

1 

12 

20 

1 

24 

5 

20 

25 

12 

15 

21 

9 

2 

17 

4 

15 

20 

25 

14 

9 

20 

3 

1 

10 

15 

2 

24 

7 

2 

2 

40 

5 

50 

10 

10 

4 

3 

2 

40 

35 

3 

4 

HAREM  DISCIPLINE. 

In  the  management  of  the  harem  the  bull  is  an  adept.  Whether  he  has  five  cows 
or  fifty,  he  is  master  of  the  situation.  His  will  is  law.  Not  that  it  is  always  tamely 
accepted  as  such,  but  the  result  is  the  same.  If  a  cow  becomes  restless  and  moves 
about,  a  warning  growl  usually  quiets  her.  If  the  movement  is  persisted  in  and  an 
attempt  to  escape  evident,  the  bull  is  up  at  once  with  a  show  of  fierceness  and  in 
chase.  He  may  simply  strike  the  cow  down  with  his  open  mouth.  Often  in  doing  so 
his  sharp  canines  tear  a  gash  in  her  skin.  He  may  even  seize  her  in  his  mouth  and 
deliberately  throw  her  or  carry  her  back  into  the  harem.  If  the  cow  thinks  she  has  a 
chance  to  get  away,  she  may  try  to  outrun  the  bull.  If  she  miscalculates  the  distance, 
he  seizes  her  by  the  skin  of  the  back  and  restores  her,  sometimes  in  a  torn  and  bleed- 
ing condition,  to  the  family  circle.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  cow  avoids  this  seizure  by 
turning  and  facing  the  bull,  biting  him  in  the  breast  and  neck.  The  bull  then,  by 
gradually  pushing  her  before  him,  forces  her  back  into  the  fold. 

THE   DEPARTURE  OF  THE   COWS. 

These  persistent  efforts  to  get  away  are  made  by  the  cows  who  are  ready  to  leave 
for  the  water.  The  cows  are  not  allowed  to  go  until  they  are  served.  The  bull's 
actions  seem  to  be  based  upon  a  desire  to  be  absolutely  sure  and  to  take  no  chances. 
The  cow,  when  forced  against  her  will  to  stay,  bides  her  time,  and  when  the  bull  is 
asleep  she  slips  away  unmolested.  It  frequently  happens  that  she  has  to  run  the 
gauntlet  of  a  band  of  young  bulls  which  are  stationed  along  the  water  front  and  are 
always  ready  to  intercept  the  departing  cow.  The  cow  shows  much  skill  and  shrewd- 
ness in  outwitting  them..  Once  in  the  water  her  superior  quickness  enables  her  to 


DISCIPLINE    OF    THE    BEACH    MASTERS.  59 

outswiin  her  pursuers.  In  one  or  two  instances  a  chase  of  this  sort  could  be  traced 
for  a  half  mile  or  more  out  to  sea  by  the  dolphin  leaps  of  the  animals  as  they  rose 
above  the  surface  to  breathe.  These  instances  were  chiefly  to  be  seen  late  in  June, 
before  the  baud  of  seals  oft'  the  rookery  front  was  large  enough  to  furnish  protection 
to  the  departing  cows. 

METHODS   OF   DISCIPLINE. 

In  the  ordinary  discipline  of  the  harem  a  growl  from  the  bull  usually  quiets  the 
cows.  This  growl  is  also  forthcoming  when  the  cows  quarrel  among  themselves,  as 
they  frequently  do.  Sometimes  it  is  necessary  for  the  bull  to  get  up  and  quiet  them 
by  chuckling  and  scolding  over  them,  apparently  in  a  tone  of  remonstrance. 

At  times,  even  when  his  cows  are  all  asleep,  the  bull  rouses  himself  up  and  by 
encircling  his  harem  and  whistling,  chuckling,  and  snarling  starts  the  cows  up  and 
crowds  them  together.  No  apparent  reason  for  such  action  can  be  seen.  It  seems  on 
the  face  of  it  an  unnecessary  exhibition  of  authority,  which,  however,  may  serve  some 
purpose.  Having  rounded  up  his  harem,  the  bull  may  return  to  his  favorite  sleeping 
spot  to  resume  his  nap,  or  he  may  pick  a  quarrel  with  his  neighbor. 

THE   FIGHTING   OF   THE   BULLS. 

At  times  the  young  bulls,  in  attempting  to  reach  the  rear  of  the  rookeries  without 
going  around,  break  through  the  line  of  harems.  Their  entrance  into  the  rookery 
confines  sets  everything  in  an  uproar.  Each  bull  into  whose  domain  becomes  attacks 
the  intruder  and  passes  him  along  to  the  next.  Occasionally  some  over-valiant  bull 
goes  too  far  from  his  harem.  The  idle  bulls  are  on  the  alert  and  seize  the  occasion  to 
carry  off  cows.  In  very  rare  instances  an  idle  bull  may  step  in  and  take  the  whole 
harem,  whipping  out  its  rightful  owner  when  he  attempts  to  return.  So,  over  the 
whole  section  of  the  rookery  thus  stirred  up,  fighting  ensues  and  confusion  reigns. 
In  the  height  of  the  breeding  season  such  incidents  are  of  hourly  occurrence. 

THE  EARLY  FIGHTING   OVERESTIMATED. 

It  is  in  the  height  of  the  season,  and  then  alone,  that  the  excessive  fighting  ^ 
among  the  bulls  occurs.  It  has  been  currently  supposed  that  from  the  period  of  the 
landing  of  the  first  bulls  they  were  engaged  in  defending  their  positions  in  bloody 
battles;  that  a  truce  resulting  from  these  first  contests  for  places  was  gradually 
established;  that  this  was  broken  on  the  arrival  of  the  first  cows,  when  a  period  of 
desperate  and  spasmodic  fighting  began. 

Such,  however,  was  not  the  case  in  1897,  and  has  probably  never  been  the  case. 
As  the  bulls  spend  the  days,  after  the  breeding  season  is  over,  in  resting  and  sleeping 
in  good  fellowship  on  the  sand  beaches,  so  they  seem  to  spend  the  period  of  waiting, 
prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  cows,  in  sleeping  and  resting.  At  the  time  of  our  landing 
at  St.  George,  on  June  7,  it  could  not  be  determined  from  the  deck  of  the  vessel, 
anchored  but  a  few  rods  off  the  rookery,  whether  it  was  occupied  or  not.  With  a 
glass  a  few  bulls  could  be  seen.  On  close  inspection  the  beach  was  found  to  contain 
180  adult  bulls  evenly  distributed  over  the  rookery  territory.  When  disturbed  they 
roused  up  and  roared  both  at  the  intruder  and  at  one  another;  but  they  soon  returned 
to  their  sleep.  There  was  no  commotion,  no  excitement.  When  pressed  too  closely 
they  gave  evidence  of  willingness  to  yield  their  ground.  No  test  of  whether  they  could 


60  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

be  driven  off  was  deemed  advisable.  There  was  no  fighting  among  them  at  that 
time  nor  any  apparent  inclination  to  fight  voluntarily.  That  no  marked  fighting 
had  occurred  previous  to  this  time  was  evident  from  the  fact  that  but  few  wounds  or 
fresh  scars  could  be  seen  upon  the  animals.  In  this  regard  they  were  in  marked 
contrast  to  their  condition  in  the  middle  of  the  season,  when  the  harem  bull  or  idle 
bull  that  did  not  show  gashes  about  the  breast  and  shoulders  was  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule. 

At  this  early  date  the  bulls  not  only  did  not  pay  any  attention  to  one  another, 
but  even  allowed  the  bachelors  to  occupy  places  among  them  and  to  haul  out  where 
they  pleased.  Later  in  the  season  this  could  not  have  occurred.  A  bachelor  or  young 
bull  then  appearing  within  range  of  an  adult  bull  was  violently  attacked. 

NO   FIGHTING   OVER   ARRIVING   COWS. 

As  the  description  of  the  arrival  of  the  cows  has  already  indicated,  there  could 
be  nothing  more  incorrect  than  the  reported  battles  over  them.  To  the  first  arrival 
of  the  cow  the  bulls  are  utterly  indifferent  except  where  she  becomes  the  object  of 
capture  by  a  particular  bull.  Once  in  the  harems,  the  cows  receive  little  attention  even 
from  their  lords  after  the  first  brief  welcome  and  absolutely  none  from  other  bulls. 
This  was  but  natural.  The  lauding  cows  were  heavy  with  young.  These  must  be 
born  and  a  period  of  a  week  elapse  before  they  could  become  an  object  of  interest  to 
the  bull.  The  attitude  of  the  bull  at  the  outset  was  one  merely  of  defense  or  struggle 
for  possession.  He  was  not  influenced,  as  he  was  later  on,  by  sexual  excitement. 

The  real  period  of  struggle  and  contest  on  the  rookeries  occurred  after  the  1st  of 
July,  when  the  cows  began  to  come  in  heat  in  large  numbers.  From  this  time  on  to 
the  close  of  the  season  more  or  less  fighting  could  always  be  seen. 

FIGHTING   INFLUENCED   BY   SEXUAL   INSTINCT. 

When  the  breeding  season  was  over  and  the  bulls  had  returned  to  the  sand  beaches 
from  feeding,  their  fighting  instincts  were  plainly  gone  and  they  could  be  gathered 
up  and  driven  about  like  the  bachelors.  In  securing  specimens  for  dissection  or  other 
purposes,  two  or  three  men  could  round  up  from  400  to  500  bulls  on  Zoltoi  sands  and 
drive  them  over  to  the  killing  grounds.  They  could  be  handled  and  driven  exactly 
as  sheep  are.  In  the  breeding  season  a  dozen  men  could  not  move  one  of  these  bulls 
from  his  place  or  make  away  with  him  otherwise  than  by  killing  him.  His  courage 
and  fighting  qualities  are  simply  boundless  in  the  defense  of  his  harem.  He  will  not 
interfere  with  the  observer  who  keeps  at  a  reasonable  distance,  but  when  too  closely 
approached  he  will  charge  fiercely  and  quickly,  and  the  adult  bull  on  the  breeding 
grounds  is  about  as  dangerous  as  a  bear.  Judging  from  the  way  in  which  they  tear 
one  another,  a  man  would  fare  badly  in  their  clutches.  The  bull,  however,  does  not 
follow  up  his  enemy  beyond  a  certain  point,  and  always  returns  to  his  real  or  imagi- 
nary harem.  This  makes  escape  an  easy  matter.  The  chief  source  of  danger  in  getting 
about  among  the  bulls  is  in  the  possibility  of  slipping  or  stumbling  on  the  rocks,  or 
ot  running  into  the  range  of  a  sleeping  animal  while  escaping  from  another.  One  can 
not  always  easily  distinguish,  in  the  foggy  atmosphere  of  Bering  Sea,  the  idle  bulls 
from  the  stones  among  which  they  lie.  That  no  accidents  have  occurred  to  the  various 
investigators  from  the  attacks  of  bull  seals  is  due  to  the  wholesome  caution  and  respect 
which  their  courage  and  apparent  capacity  for  mischief  have  inspired. 


uj     Be 


- 

Q-       C 

to     P5 


*  I 

8  S 

a  s 

<  S 


A  DEFEATED  BEACH   MASTER. 
Drawn  from  nature  by  Bristow  Adams. 


FIGHTING    OF    THE    BEACH    MASTERS.  61 

MANNER   OF  FIGHTING. 

Much  of  the  so-called  fighting,  especially  among  the  harem  bulls,  is  a  species  of 
"bluffing"  accompanied  by  a  good  deal  of  roaring  and  blowing,  but  ending  without 
injury.  The  signal  for  such  a  performance  is  a  challenging  roar  on  the  part  of  some 
bull  and  an  answering  roar  from  the  challenged  bull.  The  two  animals  approach 
each  other,  and  when  at  a  certain  distance  apart,  both  strike  out  with  that  long 
.serpent-like  stroke  characteristic  of  the  seal.  In  making  the  stroke  the  bulls  let 
themselves  down  with  their  breasts  on  the  ground,  and,  after  puffing  out  their  musky 
breath,  which  forms  a  cloud  in  the  cool,  moist  air,  they  right  themselves  and,  standing 
for  a  minute  with  averted  heads,  return  to  their  places. 

REAL   FIGHTING. 

These  are  merely  exchanges  of  friendly  greetings  between  the  harem  masters. 
Between  the  harem  masters  and  the  idle  bulls,  or  between  individuals  of  the  latter 
class,  the  matter  is  more  serious.  The  same  preliminaries  are  gone  through  .with, 
but  the  stroke  does  not  fall  short  and  end  in  fiasco.  The  aim  is  taken  for  the 
foreflipper  at  the  angle  of  the  body,  and  if  it  is  true,  a  deep  red  gash  is  the  result. 
But  the  animals  are  expert  in  averting  the  attack  by  throwing  the  flipper  under  the 
body.  Failing  in  reaching  the  coveted  point  of  attack,  a  compromise  is  made,  each 
animal  seizing  the  other  by  the  skin  of  the  shoulder  or  breast,  wherever  the  hold  can 
be  obtained.  They  then  clinch  and  tug  and  strain  in  their  efforts  each  to  overturn 
the  other  or  to  push  him  from  his  place.  The  strength  of  the  powerful  jaws  is  such 
that  not  infrequently  a  great  gaping  rent  in  the  tough  hide  is  the  result.  If,  however, 
the  hold  is  firm,  and  one  animal  is  strong  enough  to  push  the  other,  this  ends  the 
fight,  the  one  yielding  giving  it  up.  If  the  animals  are  more  evenly  matched,  after 
each  clinch  they  return  to  renew  the  struggle  in  a  species  of  rounds,  gauged  by  the 
endurance  of  the  bulls.  They  are  soon  fatigued  on  land,  as  they  have  difficulty  in 
getting  breath,  and  any  exertion  must  be  of  short  duration. 

That  some  of  these  fights  are  continued  until  one  or  the  other  of  the  animals  dies 
of  exhaustion,  is  abundantly  proved  by  the  bodies  of  dead  bulls  found  on  the  rookeries 
and  especially  in  that  territory  occupied  by  the  idle  bulls.  On  Zapadni  rookery  no 
less  than  ten  of  these  animals,  freshly  dead,  were  seen  about  the  middle  of  July.  The 
bodies  were  torn  and  gashed,  but  none  of  the  wounds  were  capable  of  causing  death, 
which  probably  resulted  directly  from  exhaustion. 

THE   TREATMENT   OF   THE   COWS. 

The  fights  between  the  harem  masters  and  the  idle  bulls  are  at  bottom  due  to  the 
attempts  of  the  latter  class  to  steal  the  cows.  When  an  idle  bull  steals  a  cow,  he 
is  usually  attacked  by  her  master.  Sometimes  he  drops  the  cow,  which  returns 
to  the  harem  while  the  bulls  settle  the  account.  It  sometimes  happens,  however, 
that  the  master  or  perhaps  a  third  bull  seizes  the  cow  and  she  is  pulled  about  until 
one  or  the  other  hold  loosens.  Doubtless  a  certain  number  of  cows  are  literally 
torn  to  pieces  in  this  way.  One  was  seen  on  Kifcovi  rookery  to  lie  limp  and  insensible 
for  five  minutes  after  being  thus  treated.  She  afterwards  crawled  away,  evidently 
seriously  hurt.  That  the  number  of  cows  killed  by  the  bulls  in  their  struggles  or  by 
the  rough  treatment  of  the  harem  masters  is  considerable  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 


62  THE   FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

no  less  than  42  dead  cows  were  found  in  the  season  of  1897  on  Reef  rookery,  the 
majority  of  which  were  so  torn  and  mangled  as  to  point  to  the  harsh  treatment  of 
the  bulls  as  the  probable  cause.  Other  cows  were  found  dead  from  similar  cause 
on  all  the  rookeries.  In  189G  131,  all  told,  were  thus  counted. 

The  bulls  are  anything  but  gentle  with  the  cows.  Examples  of  their  rough  treat- 
ment can  at  any  time  be  seen  on  the  rookeries.  Living  cows,  cut  and  slashed  and 
torn,  are  everywhere  visible.  Tn  most  cases  the  injury  is  due  probably  to  accident 
rather  than  intention.  In  one  case,  however,  on  Lukaniii  rookery  during  the  summer 
of  1897,  a  bull  simply  bit  and  worried  a  stolen  cow  until  he  killed  her.  When  first 
seen  she  was  considerably  torn,  having  been  stolen  from  a  neighboring  harem  by  her 
master,  an  idle  bull.  She  was  restless  and  kept  making  constant  efforts  to  escape. 
The  bull  treated  her  roughly,  but  while  observed  was  not  seen  to  injure  her  seriously. 
At  every  time  the  rookery  was  subsequently  inspected,  however,  she  was  found  to  be 
in  worse  condition,  until  after  two  days  she  was  found  dead.  The  bloody  jaws  and 
front  of  her  master  showed  plainly  who  was  responsible.  The  body  was  recovered 
and  the  skin  taken  and  tanned  as  a  specimen  of  the  wanton  cruelty  of  the  bull. 

THE  WOUNDS   OF  THE  FUR   SEAL. 

The  attitude  of  the  fur  seals  toward  their  wounds  is  striking.  There  is  no  attempt 
to  nurse,  lick,  or  otherwise  notice  them.  A  bull,  whose  foreflipper  is  hacked  and 
bleeding,  his  every  movement  lacerating  still  further  the  injured  muscles,  may  be  seen 
rushing  about,  rounding  up  his  harem,  bidding  defiance  to  every  idle  bull  within 
reach.  A  cow  may  be  seen  going  about  with  a  flap  of  skin  6  inches  square  torn  from 
her  back.  A  pup  was  seen  from  whose  side  the  skin  and  blubber  was  torn  and 
hanging  in  a  flap,  leaving  the  intestines  bare,  and  it  was  still  a  lively  and  apparently 
cheerful  pup.  A  bull  in  attempting  to  carry  off  a  cow  from  a  harem  was  attacked  by 
the  owner  of  the  cow.  Instead  of  dropping  her  .and  defending  himself  he  clung  to 
her  and  took  his  punishment,  struggling  on.  The  harem  master  seized  him  by  the 
exposed  flank,  and  when  he  released  his  hold,  after  almost  overturning  the  bull,  the 
blood  gushed  out  from  the  holes  made  by  his  ugly  canines.  The  thief  escaped  with 
the  cow  and  added  her  to  his  small  harem  of  two.  In  his  self-satisfied  perambulations 
about  his  family  group  he  soon  made  a  space  of  about  10  feet  square  crimson  with  his 
blood.  The  next  day  the  bull  was  just  as  pugnacious  as  ever,  and  even  made  an 
attempt  to  steal  a  fourth  cow.  His  wounds,  of  which  he  had  many,  were  a  source  of 
no  apparent  annoyance  to  him. 

The  thick  coating  of  blubber  under  the  skin  with  which  the  seals  of  all  classes  are 
lined  is  doubtless  not  very  sensitive,  and  this,  not  the  muscles,  is  torn  and  lacerated. 
The  climatic  conditions,  the  salt  water,  and  the  absence  of  flies  render  the  healing  of 
the  wounds  rapid,  and  by  the  middle  of  August  but  few  traces  remain,  except  the 
welt  or  scar  in  the  skin  which  at  times  results  from  imperfect  healing.  The  wound 
which  so  many  bulls  receive  at  the  angle  of  the  foreflipper  is  usually  kept  gaping  open 
to  such  an  extent  by  the  movements  of  the  animals  that  a  perpetual  scar  remains. 

THE   INSTINCT  FOR  FIGHTING. 

The  fighting  among  the  bulls  has  evidently  been  a  feature  of  the  breeding  grounds 
so  long  that  it  has  become  an  instinct  with  the  males.  On  every  hauling  ground  the 
bachelors  of  all  ages  are  constantly  going  through  in  play  the  movements  of  their 


O      ffl 

o    •>, 


UJ  S 

^  « 

O  =8 

O  C 

o:  - 

<  P 


THE  SKIN  OF  A  COW  TORN  AND  BITTEN  TO  DEATH   BY  HER   BULL  ON   LUKANIN   ROOKERY,  SAINT  PAUL  ISLAND, 

JULY,   1897. 


•C\BK-.,T> 

OF  Till. 

TTNIVERSITY 


SLEEP  OF  THE  FUR  SEALS.  63 

elders.  By  twos  they  are  striking  for  the  forettipper  or  dodging  the  blow,  bracing  and 
pushing  and  struggling  with  each  other.  They  pant  and  strain,  rest  for  a  time,  and 
then  resume  the  contest. 

This  same  thing  is  true  of  the  little  pups.  As  soon  as  they  are  able  to  play  at 
anything  it  is  bull  fighting.  The  little  black  head  of  the  2-weeks-old  pup  strikes 
out  for  his  neighbor's  forettipper,  which  involuntarily  tucks  itself  under  the  body,  and 
the  little  yellow  teeth  close  on  the  fur  of  the  neck  and  pull  and  tug  until  their  owner 
has  put  to  rout  its  antagonist  or  been  routed.  In  each  case,  while  it  is  plainly  play, 
it  is  such  dreadfully  earnest  play  that  one  can  only  distinguish  it  from  the  fighting 
of  the  bulls  by  its  results. 

THE   NOISE   OF   THE   ROOKERIES. 

To  appreciate  fully  this  picture  of  the  animated  life  of  the  fur-seal  rookery  one 
must  take  into  account  the  medley  of  sound  that  accompanies  it.  The  bulls  are  giving 
vent  at  intervals  to  their  savage  roars  of  defiance.  In  their  more  subdued  efforts 
to  maintain  discipline  in  the  harem  they  are  constantly  whistling,  chuckling,  and 
scolding  in  various  notes.  Mingled  with  all  this  is  the  shrill  bleat  of  the  female  and 
the  answering  call  of  the  pup,  which  correspond  to  the  voice  of  the  sheep  and  the 
lamb,  though  greater  in  volume.  When  it  is  understood  that  thousands  of  these 
animals  are  calling  and  answering  all  the  time,  some  idea  of  the  uproar  and  confusion 
incident  to  rookery  life  is  possible.  Nor  is  the  din  and  noise  peculiar  to  the  day. 
It  can  be  heard  at  all  hours  of  the  night ;  in  fact,  the  activity  is,  if  anything,  greater 
at  that  time. 

THE   SLEEPING   OF   THE   SEALS. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  breeding  season  all  the  animals  sleep  much  of  the  time. 
The  cows,  as  they  come  in  from  their  long  journey,  spend  most  of  the  first  ten  days 
they  are  constantly  on  land  in  sleeping.  It  is  with  the  height  of  the  season,  when 
the  cows  are  landing  in  large  numbers  from  their  trips  to  the  feeding  grounds,  that 
the  noise  and  confusion  becomes  so  marked.  But  even  then  through  it  all  a  large 
proportion  of  the  animals  are  comfortably  asleep.  A  harem  may  be  seen  in  which, 
for  the  time  being,  every  animal  from  the  old  bull  down  to  the  pups  is  sound  asleep. 
Beside  it  may  be  a  harem  which  is  all  confusion,  every  animal  up  and  stirring,  and 
most  of  them  calling.  Still  another  harem  has  part  of  its  occupants  awake  and 
active,  the  rest  asleep.  On  the  hauling  grounds,  among  the  pups  and  among  the  idle 
bulls,  it  is  the  same. 

The  seals  sleep  very  soundly  at  certain  times.  In  counting  the  live  pups  it 
frequently  happened  that  a  pod  of  50  or  100  pups  would  be  driven  over  a  space  on 
which  a  half  dozen  or  more  pups  slept  undisturbed  by  the  shuffling  feet  of  their 
companions.  To  the  seal's  habit  of  sleeping  soundly  in  the  water  the  success  of 
pelagic  sealing  is  largely  due.  The  pelagic  sealer,  taking  advantage  of  the  habit, 
is  able  to  row  close  up  to  the  sleeping  animal  and  throw  his  spear  into  it  or  fill  it 
with  buckshot. 

The  attitude  of  the  seal  thus  sleeping  in  the  water  is  interesting.  It  lies  on  its 
back  in  a  bowed  position,  the  nose  just  peering  above  the  surface,  and,  it  is  said, 
always  to  the  leeward.  The  hind  flippers  are  raised  aloft  as  a  windbreak  to  keep  the 
animal  in  this  definite  position.  In  this  attitude  the  seal  can  apparently  sleep  with 


64  THE    FUR    SEALS   OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

the  greatest  comfort,  rocked  by  the  gentle  swell.  In  such  calm  days  as  occur  during 
the  months  of  September  and  October  the  water  off  the  rookery  fronts  and  sand 
beaches  is  literally  black  with  the  swimming  and  sleeping  pups.  Occasionally  older 
seals  at  this  time,  and  more  frequently  earlier  in  the  season,  are  to  be  seen  in  the 
same  position. 

THEIR   ATTITUDES. 

An  interesting  feature  about  the  fur  seal  in  its  naps  on  the  rookery  is  the 
variety  of  attitudes  which  it  assumes.  The  sleeping  animals  assume  every  conceivable 
shape  and  position.  One  animal  is  stretched  out  at  full  length  on  its  back,  another 
on  its  side,  still  another  on  its  stomach.  Again,  the  hind  flippers  may  be  tucked 
up  under  the  body,  the  foreflippers  outstretched.  These  conditions  may  be  exactly 
reversed.  Or  the  hind  flippers  may  be  waving  lazily  in  the  air  like  a  fan.  On  a 
day  when  the  sun  shines  for  a  few  minutes  the  seal  lies  prone  upon  the  ground  with 
its  nippers  in  the  air.  The  sight  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  the  animals  thus 
stretched  out,  almost  gasping  for  breath  and  with  every  hind  flipper  waving  in  the 
effort  to  keep  cool,  is  a  most  interesting  one. 

The  seals  enjoy  the  rocks.  They  do  not  care  for  a  smooth  and  even  bed.  The 
body  has  a  wonderful  power  of  adaptation  to  its  rocky  bed  of  water- worn  bowlders. 
One  cow  finds  a  flat  rock  on  which  she  curls  up  and  lets  her  head  hang  over  the  side 
at  a  most  reckless  angle.  Another  lies  with  her  head  elevated  upon  a  rock,  as  though 
on  a  pillow.  A  favorite  position  among  the  animals  is  to  sleep  sitting  up  with  the 
head  thrown  back  and  the  body  wavering  with  the  respirations  as  if  it  would  fall. 
On  rookeries  where  perpendicular  cliffs  form  the  back  ground  the  animals  are  to  be 
found  stowed  away  on  little  shelves  and  in  little  angles  where  it  is  a  wonder  they  can 
keep  their  positions  at  all. 

THE   COLORATION. 

There  is  more  or  less  diversity  in  the  coloration  of  the  various  animals,  which 
lends  interest  '  the  picture  of  rookery  life.  The  little  pups  are  at  birth  shiny  black 
with  a  white  spot  in  the  axil.  Some  of  them  show  a  brownish  shade  along  the  throat 
and  belly.  In  September  they  shed  their  black  coats  and  don  coats  of  gray,  which, 
under  fae  action  of  the  weather,  soon  change  into  the  brownish  or  combination  brown 
and  silvery  color  of  the  adults. 

On  her  first  landing  the  adult  female  is  dark,  slightly  olivaceous,  gray.  Under 
exposure  to  the  weather,  and  especially  the  sunshine,  she  turns  to  a  rusty  reddish 
brown,  somewhat  darker  on  the  back,  lighter  on  the  throat  and  belly.  The  great 
uniformity  of  this  coloration,  as  seen  among  the  cows  during  June  of  1897  before  they 
had  begun  to  go  to  sea,  confirms  the  belief  that  these  darker  colors,  as  a  rule,  go  with 
the  older  animals. 

About  the  middle  of  July,  the  time  at  which  the  younger  bachelors  begin  to 
appear  in  greatest  number,  the  rookeries  also  show  large  numbers  of  animals  which 
in  their  silvery  throats  and  bellies  contrast  sharply  with  the  animals  already  present. 
Their  backs  present  the  same  dark-brown  shade,  but  the  silvery  gray  underneath  the 
body  is  entirely  different.  Their  small  size,  the  black  whiskers,  and  the  lateness  of 
their  arrival  proclaim  them  to  be  younger  animals.  But  not  all  the  younger  animals 
are  of  this  sort,  as  two  virgin  females  killed  side  by  side  were  each  of  a  distinct  type 


THE  FUR  OF  THE  FUR  SEAL.  65 

of  coloration.  This  makes  it  possible  only  to  say  that  the  older  seals  are  more  uniform 
aiid  darker  in  color,  while  among  the  younger  seals  there  is  more  diversity.  It  seems 
likely  that  the  lighter  colors  in  the  young  seals  correspond  to  the  brownish  bellied 
black  pups.  Among  the  bachelors  the  colors  seem  more  uniform,  though  the  younger 
males  show  again  a  preponderance  of  the  lighter  shades. 

The  greatest  diversity  exists  among  the  bulls.  Among  the  harem  masters  there 
are  two  general  types,  one  almost  black,  the  other  reddish-brown.  Both  styles  of 
coloration  are  associated  with  the  older  animals,  but  which  is  the  older  of  the  two  is 
not  apparent.  The  younger  bulls  are,  as  a  rule,  gray. 

But  these  three  are  only  general  types.  There  is  the  greatest  individual  varia- 
tion among  the  bulls  of  all  classes,  and  almost  any  combination  of  shades  or  mingling 
of  shades  can  be  found.  Much  of  the  individual  variation  is  due  to  the  length  of 
time  the  animals  have  been  out  of  the  water;  in  other  words,  to  the  influence  of 
exposure.  In  the  water  and  when  wet  there  is  but  little  difference  in  the  coloration. 
In  rainy  weather  the  animals  are  all  of  one  shade. 

THE   PELAGE. 

The  diversity  of  color  in  the  fur  seal  is  confined  chiefly  to  the  outer  or  water  hairs, 
which  project  beyond  the  fur.  The  fur  itself  is  fairly  uniform.  In  the  pups  the  water 
hair  is  glossy  black  at  birth  and  is  replaced  in  two  to  three  months  by  hair  of  gray. 
In  the  females  the  water  hair  is  more  or  less  uniform  in  length,  and  the  same  is  true 
of  the  males  until  after  the  third  year.  From  this  time  on  the  hair  on  the  neck  of  the 
male  becomes  longer  and  coarser,  developing  with  the  growth  of  the  bull  into  stiff 
bristles,  constituting  the  mane,  or  "wig,"  as  it  is  called. 

Beneath  this  water  hair  is  the  short,  thick  fur  of  the  seal.  In  the  preparation  of 
the  seal  skins  these  hairs  are  carefully  removed,  leaving  only  the  short,  thick  fur.  It 
has  been  asserted  that  the  pup  is  born  without  fur,  having  only  the  black  hair,  and 
that  it  does  not  attain  its  full  pelage  until  the  second  year.  This  is  not  the  case.  The 
pup  at  birth  has  short  fuzzy  fur,  which  grows  rapidly,  and  is  of  considerable  length 
when  the  animal  begins  to  swim.  By  the  time  it  is  ready  for  the  sea  in  the  fall  its 
fur  differs  in  length  and  thickness  from  that  of  the  older  seals  only  as  the  size  of  the 
animal  varies. 

THE   STAGY    SEASON. 

Between  the  middle  of  August  and  the  middle  of  October  the  adult  animals  shed 
their  hair  and  get  a  new  coat.  During  this  season  the  skins  of  the  seals  are  said  to 
be  stagy,  and  they  are  not  taken  on  land.  The  fact,  however,  that  one  of  the  most 
important  catches  at  sea  is  taken  in  August  and  September  has  led  to  some  confusion. 
It  has  been  held  by  those  interested  that  no  stagy  seals  were  found  at  sea,  and  from 
this,  by  inference  at  least,  it  has  been  suggested  that  these  animals  are,  for  some 
reason,  a  different  class. 

In  his  report  for  1890,  the  Canadian  commissioner,  Mr.  Andrew  Halkett,  quotes 
the  statements  of  a  large  number  of  sealers  to  the  effect  that  they  had  never  known  a 
stagy  seal  at  sea  and  had  seen  very  few  in  poor  condition  as  to  fur.  Mr.  Halkett 
expresses  his  own  opinion  as  follows : 

I  have  simply  to  say  that  nothing  resembling  a  seal  in  poor  condition,  either  as  to  hair  or  fur,  was 
by  me,  :;lthou^h  some  XOO  passed  through  my  hands. 
15184 5 


66  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

He  adds  the  remark : 

I  have  no  difficulty  to  decide  as  to  a  bird  in  a  molting  condition  or  in  full  brooding  plumage,  or 
a  mammal  when  casting  its  hair,  so  that  I  cannot  understand  why  it  should  be  so  difficult  to  tell  a 
stagy  seal. 

The  trouble  here  arises  from  a  misunderstanding  of  what  is  meant  by  "staginess." 
It  does  not  designate  any  marked  difference  in  quantity  of  the  fur.  It  has  chiefly 
to  do  with  the  condition  of  the  water  hair.  During  the  months  of  August,  September, 
and  October  the  water  hairs  are  gradually  replaced  by  a  new  growth.  While  this 
new  hair  is  growing  and  before  it  has  attained  its  full  length  it  sticks  tightly,  and  is 
very  difficult  to  remove  in  unhairiug  the  skin  in  the  process  of  dressing.1  The  practical 
impossibility  of  removing  all  the  short  hairs  depreciates  the  value  of  the  skins.  When 
the  seals  are  taken  on  the  islands  in  June  and  July  the  skins  are  approaching  the  time 
when  these  hairs  are  ready  to  fall  out,  and  they  are  consequently  more  easily  removed. 
As  a  large  part  of  the  value  of  the  skin  is  the  result  of  the  labor  put  upon  it  in 
preparation,  anything  which  tends  to  increase  this  labor  decreases  the  value  of  the 
pelt  in  the  raw  state. 

To  the  eye  of  the  casual  or  untrained  observer  the  skin  of  the  seal  taken  in 
August  or  September  does  not  show  staginess.  If  the  fur  is  parted,  however,  the 
short  hair  can  be  seen  among  the  fur  and  hidden  by  it. 

Under  these  conditions  it  is  not  strange  that  sealers  and  others  do  not  recognize 
the  seals  as  stagy.  Staginess  is  a  condition  fully  recognized  and  appreciated  only 
by  the  furrier.  In  deference  to  his  wishes,  the  seals  on  the  islands  are  not  taken  while 
they  are  in  this  condition.  As  a  result,  for  this  reason  among  others,  the  island  catch 
is  regarded  as  superior  to  the  catch  taken  at  sea.  The  pelagic  sealer  does  not  respect 
the  stagy  season,  and  declares  that  he  takes  no  stagy  seals,  but  the  price  he  obtains 
for  his  skins  clearly  indicates  that  the  furrier  does  not  agree  with  him. 

THE   ARRIVAL   OF   THE   YOUNGER   SEALS. 

There  remains  yet  to  be  recorded  the  arrival  of  the  young  1  and  2  year  old 
females.  Their  brothers,  we  found,  arrive  at  the  islands  about  the  middle  of  July 
and  spend  their  time  on  the  hauling  grounds.  Whether  the  young  females  come  with 
them  to  the  vicinity  of  the  islands  or  are  associated  with  them  on  the  migrations  is 
not  known.  But  they  do  not  associate  with  them  to  any  great  extent  on  the  islands. 

The  2-year-olds  come  to  the  rookeries  about  the  first  of  August.  They  take 
up  their  places  in  the  old  harems  or  in  new  and  temporary  ones  in  charge  of  young 
bulls  on  the  water  front  and  in  the  rear  of  the  regular  breeding  grounds.  Here  they 
are  served  by  the  bulls  and  return  to  the  water. 

1  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  treating  stagy  skins  are  well  put  in  the  following  extract  from 
a  letter  by  Mr.  Isaac  Liebes,  of  the  firm  of  H.  Liebes  &  Co.,  furriers,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal. : 

"The  short  or  water  hair  (in  stagy  skins)  can  never  be  entirely  removed,  and  in  attempting  to 
do  so  a  great  deal  of  the  wool  is  pulled  out  with  the  hair,  which  of  course  deteriorates  the  quality. 
Then  again,  the  stumps  of  the  hair  being  left  in  the  leather  (as  they  cannot  be  pulled  out,  but  are  cut 
off),  makes  the  pelt  stiff  and  harsh,  so  that  after  it  is  prepared  the  stagy  skin  can  be  clearly  indicated 
by  the  color  and  texture  of  the  leather.  The  water  hairs  can  never  be  removed  from  the  thin  sides  of 
the,  animal,  where  the  fur  is  shorter  than  in  the  back,  and  in  the  process  of  machining,  which  these 
skins  undergo,  the  wool  is  separated  so  as  to  expose  the  stiff  hairs,  which  are  then  cut  out,  but  the 
sides,  being  so  short  in  fur,  the  machine  cannot  successfully  separate  the  hair  from  the  wool." 


CLOSE    OF    THE    BREEDING    SEASON.  67 

The  yearling  females  doubtless  come  to  the  islands  in  company  with  the  2-year 
olds,  but  do  not  put  in  an  appearance  on  the  rookeries  much  before  September,  at  the 
time  when  the  pups  of  the  year  are  able  to  swim  well  and  begin  to  make  their  first  ** 
excursions  about  the  islands.    For  the  rest  of  the  season  these  young  seals  spend  their 
time  playing  among  the  pups  and  ranging  like  privileged  characters  over  the  rookeries. 

That  they  do  not,  as  has  been  supposed,  frequent  the  hauling  grounds  with  the 
males  is  doubtless  due  to  the  fact  that  these  would  annoy  them,  for  the  instinct  of 
rounding  up  a  harem  and  lording  it  over  others  is  early  developed  in  the  young 
male.  A  young  yearling  male  may  frequently  be  seen  rounding  up  a  pod  of  sleeping 
or  resting  pups  with  all  the  gusto  of  an  adult.  The  pups  themselves  not  infrequently 
attempt  the  same  thing  with  their  fellows. 

1HE   BREAKING  UP   OF   THE   BREEDING   SEASON. 

As  has  already  been  said,  about  the  2oth  of  July  the  old  harem  bulls,  that  have 
fasted  since  the  first  of  May,  begin  to  leave  and  seek  the  feeding  grounds.    As  they 
withdraw,  their  places  are  taken  by  the  idle  bulls.    This  class  of  males  does  not  locate 
definitely  on  the  breeding  grounds  much  before  the  arrival  of  the  cows.    They  have,^ 
therefore,  fasted  a  shorter  period  and  are  able  to  remain  out  the  season. 

By  the  5th  to  the  10th  of  August  all  the  able-bodied  adult  bulls  have  gone,  and 
the  younger  bulls,  together  with  the  bachelors,  flock  over  the  breeding  grounds. 
The  bachelors  have,  during  the  breeding  season,  been  strictly  excluded  from  the  rook- 
eries, but  with  the  departure  of  the  bulls  they  take  advantage  of  their  new  freedom, 
and  mingling  with  the  cows  and  pups,  they  round  up  mimic  harems  and  make  them- 
selves generally  at  home.  In  a  few  weeks,  however,  the  novelty  of  the  situation 
wears  off',  and  the  bachelors  return  to  their  favorite  lounging  places  on  the  sand 
beaches. 

THE   CONDITION   OF   THE   BULLS. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  wasted  and  broken  condition  of  the  harem  masters  as  _ 
they  leave  the  islands  after  their  long  fast.  It  is  true  that  they  become  reduced  in 
condition  from  their  earlier  state,  but  they  are  by  no  means  so  reduced  or  broken  in 
spirit  as  they  are  reported.  During  the  season  of  1897,  in  counting  the  pups  on  the 
several  rookeries  it  was  necessary  to  enter  them  late  in  July  or  early  in  August  and 
turn  off  the  adults  into  the  water.  These  so-called  weak  and  emaciated  bulls  were 
found  not  only  able  but  willing  to  fight  us  or  one  another  to  the  last.  In  many  cases 
they  could  not  be  moved  at  all  any  more  than  in  the  height  of  the  season.  This  was  at 
a  time  when  these  animals  must  many  of  them  have  been  without  food  or  water  for  at  «X 
least  two  mouths.  Our  experience  taught  us  that  so  long  as  an  adult  bull  is  on  the 
breeding  ground  there  is  fight  and  courage  enough  in  him  to  make  him  master  of  the 
situation ;  it  is  when  the  breeding  season  is  over  and  he  has  removed  to  the  sand 
beaches  that  he  becomes  tame  and  tractable. 

The  harem  bulls  on  their  first  departure  seek  the  feeding  grounds  and  by  the  first 
of  September  return,  some  of  them  to  their  former  places  on  the  rookeries,  where  they 
plainly  show  their  rejuvenation  by  their  renewed  combativeuess,  and  also  by  their 
efforts  to  round  up  and  monopolize  such  cows  as  still  remain  about.  Most  of  them, 
however,  haul  out  on  the  great  beaches  along  North  Shore,  English  Bay,  and  Lukanin, 
to  sleep  during  the  rest  of  the  season,  going  to  and  coming  from  the  feeding  grounds 
as  they  feel  like  it. 


68  THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  PEIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

THE  FOOD  AND  FEEDING  GROUNDS. 

The  feeding  grounds  of  the  far  seals  in  Bering  Sea  lie  to  the  south  and  west  of  the 
i/  Pribilof  Islands,  just  off  the  100-fathom  curve,  at  a  distance  of  from  100  to  1200  miles. 
In  the  migrations  the  seals  seem  to  follow  in  a  general  way  this  same  curve 

The  food  taken  by  the  seals  in  Bering  Sea  consists  mainly  of  squid,  pollock,  and  a 
small  smelt-like  fish  known  only  through  the  bones  found  in  the  stomachs  of  the  seals. 
On  the  migrations  along  the  coast  squid  is  again  the  chief  diet,  though  occasional 
salmon,  herring,  and  rocktish  are  taken.  This  subject  is  more  fully  treated  by  Mr. 
Lucas  in  Part  III. 

THE   AGE   OF   THE    SEALS. 

Of  the  age  of  the  fur  seals  we  know  practically  nothing,  but  one  striking  thing 
•s  about  the  fur-seal  rookeries  is  the  absence  of  any  animals  which  seem  to  be  aged  or 
decrepit.  On  certain  sand  beaches  and  out-of-the-way  places  animals  in  poor  condi- 
tion were  seen,  which  at  first  glance  seemed  to  correspond  to  the  class  of  aged  and 
infirm  among  other  animals,  but  on  dissection  they  were  found  without  exception  to 
show  injuries  which  fully  accounted  for  their  condition.  Some  had  dislocated  joints, 
broken  bones,  injuries  to  the  spine,  buckshot  wounds,  and  like  troubles.  None  were 
suffering  from  old  age. 

Nor  is  this  a  thing  to  be  wondered  at.  The  severest  strain  which  the  fur  seal 
undergoes  is  the  winter  migration  in  Bering  Sea  and  the  North  Pacific.  An  animal 
weak  or  broken  down  from  old  age  or  injuries  of  one  sort  or  another  would  succumb 
first  to  the  hardships  of  the  sea  and  would  not  return.  To  the  breeding  rookeries  and 
hauling  grounds  are  returned  each  spring  only  those  animals  which  have  possessed 
the  hardihood  and  strength  to  survive  the  adverse  conditions  of  the  winter.  These 
may  be  relied  upon,  unless  overcome  by  accidents,  to  maintain  themselves  during  the 
summer,  to  be  again  sifted  out  in  the  struggle  for  existence  which  the  ensuing  winter 
renews. 

THE   FUR-SEAL   TUP. 

Of  all  the  different  classes  of  animals  the  pups  are  the  most  conspicuous  and 
interesting.  For  the  first  two  months  of  their  lives  they  are  always  present  on  the 
rookeries  where  they  are  born.  Their  black  coats  contrast  sharply  with  the  gray 
stones  and  with  the  brown  fur  of  their  mothers.  For  a  few  days  after  the  pup 
is  born  it  is  watched  over  by  the  mother  with  a  moderate  show  of  interest,  which 
manifests  itself  chieHy  in  supplying  it  with  nourishment  and  keeping  it  out  of  the 
way  of  the  clumsy  bull.  But  before  long  the  little  fellow  grows  independent  and 
leaves  the  family  circle,  seeking  the  lee  of  a  sheltering  rock  at  a  distance  from  the 
harems.  There  it  spends  its  time  sleeping  and  playing  with  its  companions. 
Whether  this  "podding"  of  the  pups  is  a  matter  of  choice  or  the  outgrowth  of  the 
instinct  of  self-preservation,  the  result  is  good,  for  it  keeps  the  little  fellows  out  of 
the  way  of  the  fighting  and  trampling  bulls.  From  the  time  when  the  pup  joins 
the  pod  it  receives  no  attention  from  the  mother  except  on  her  return  from  the  sea, 
/  when  she  feeds  it.  Her  absences  are  at  first  brief,  but  as  the  pup  grows  older  they 
lengthen  out.  The  pup  gorges  itself  with  milk  while  the  mother  is  on  land  and  goes 
hungry  until  her  return. 


THE    SWIMMING    PUPS.  69 

When  it  is  about  a  mouth  old  the  pup  seeks  the  water's  edge,  and  after  paddling 
about  for  a  time  in  the  tide  pools  gradually  learns  to  swim.  This  art,  in  which  it 
becomes  wonderfully  expert,  it  finds  evident  difficulty  in  acquiring. 

THE   SWIMMING   OF   THE   PUPS. 

Many  accounts  have  been  given  of  the  way  in  which  various  classes  of  animals  are 
supposed  to  assist  the  pups  in  learning  to  swim.  If  these  have  any  foundation 
whatever  it  arises  from  a  misinterpretation  of  the  fact  that  the  young  bachelors,  and 
probably  the  yearling  cows  as  well,  play  with  and  tease  the  pups  in  their  first 
attempts  to  swim.  Bachelors  were  thus  often  seen  to  shove  the  little  pups  off  the 
rocks  into  the  water,  or  even  to  attempt  to  catch  and  duck  them.  But  the  purpose 
was  not  to  assist  the  pups. 

What  first  starts  the  pup  to  the  water  is  not  clear,  though  why  any  other  reason 
than  the  mere  fact  that  it  must  eventually  learn  to  swim  and  that  the  water  is  at 
hand,  should  be  necessary,  is  not  clear.  It  may  be  that  the  first  pups  seek  the  water 
following  the  example  of  the  departing  cows.  But,  once  a  single  pup  has  made  the 
experiment,  every  pup  in  its  section  of  the  rookery  soon  follows  the  example. 

The  pup  seeks  first  the  secluded  and  protected  tide  pools,  of  which  numbers  can 
be  found  along  the  rookery  fronts.  Here  it  paddles  about,  gradually  seeking  the  open 
water,  but  keeping  close  to  the  shore.  Its  chief  difficulty  at  tbe  outset  is  to  keep  its 
disproportionately  large  head  above  water.  In  a  very  short  time  it  becomes  perfectly 
at  home  in  the  water  and  spends  most  of  the  daytime  in  it.  As  the  pups  are  accus- 
tomed to  play  on  shore,  so  they  play  in  the  water,  rolling  over  and  over  each  other, 
diving  for  shells,  shaking  strips  of  kelp,  pieces  of  sticks,  feathers,  or  anything  that 
comes  to  hand,  just  as  young  dogs  might. 

THE   EXCURSIONS   OF   THE   PUPS. 

By  the  middle  of  September,  when  the  pups  have  learned  to  swim  well,  they  sud- 
denly develop  a  roving  spirit  and  pass  back  and  forth  between  neighboring  rookeries, 
and  there  is  a  continuous  band  of  pups  coming  and  going  between  them.  Thus,  such 
a  belt  of  pups  was  found  in  the  early  part  of  September  to  extend  from  Kitovi  rookery 
past  East  Lauding  to  Eeef  rookery,  nearly  a  mile  distant.  Another  followed  around 
the  cliffs  back  of  the  village  connecting  Gorbatch  with  Lagoon.  Lagoon  was  in  like 
manner  connected  with  Tolstoi  head,  and  a  band  of  pups  stretched  on  along  the  water 
front  of  English  Bay,  uniting  Tolstoi  and  t'.-e  Zapadnis. 

At  certain  points  intermediate  between  these  terminals,  the  pups  hauled  out  in 
groups  of  varying  sizes  and  slept  on  the  rocks,  apparently  remaining  there  for  days 
and  days  at  a  time.  But  after  the  pups  were  branded  on  Kitovi  rookery,  observa- 
tions on  a  pod  of  these  pups  hauled  out  under  Black  Bluff  showed  that  while  the 
number  in  these  distant  places  remained  nearly  constant,  the  individuals  came  and 
went  regularly.  The  pups  doubtless  returned  to  the  rookery  to  meet  their  mothers, 
timing  their  visits  with  her  return. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  month  of  September  these  excursions  of  the  pups  ceased 
as  suddenly  as  they  began,  and  the  pups  remained  about  their  respective  rookeries 
and  in  the  waters  adjacent  to  them,  sleeping  on  shore  when  hungry,  sleeping  and 
playing  in  the  water  when  full  of  milk. 


70 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


MORTALITY   AMONG   THE   SEALS.1 

On  the  rookeries  but  a  slight  mortality  occurs  among  the  adult  seals.  A  few  of 
the  cows  are  killed  in  various  ways,  chiefly  in  the  struggles  of  the  bulls  for  their 
possession.  A  total  of  131  of  these  dead  cows  was  found  on  the  rookeries  of  the 
two  islands  last  year.  A  score  or  more  of  bulls  were  found  dead  at  the  same  time, 
evidently  as  a  result  of  contests  with  one  another.  But  this  loss  in  a  herd  of 
v  nearly  160,000  adult  animals  is  insignificant. 

DEATH   OF   PUPS. 

Among  the  pups  the  mortality  is  more  striking.  The  average  fur-seal  pup  after 
it  is  a  few  weeks  old  is  not  an  easy  animal  to  kill  or  injure.  In  our  experience  we 
have  seen  them  stand  hard  knocks  and  even  coine  from  under  the  feet  of  the  bulls 
uninjured.  We  have  seen  them  tumble  off  and  go  bounding  down  the  cliffs  like 
rubber  balls  without  apparent  injury.  But  when  the  little  pup  is  only  a  few  days  old 
it  is  a  very  different  matter.  In  the  rushes  of  the  clumsy  bull  in  his  efforts  to  defend 
or  discipline  his  harem  a  certain  number  of  the  little  fellows  are  crushed  to  death 
before  they  are  old  enough  to  get  away  and  pod  by  themselves. 

THE  PARASITE   UNCINARIA. 

In  our  investigations  of  the  subject  of  mortality  among  the  pups  in  1896,  which 
were  begun  late,  we  assumed  that  the  chief  cause  of  death  among  the  11,000  pups 
counted  before  the  middle  of  August  was  the  trampling  of  the  fighting  bulls.  The 
more  thorough  investigations  of  1897,  however,  prove  this  an  error.  The  principal 
cause  of  death  was  found  to  be  a  small  parasitic  worm  of  the  genus  Uncinaria,  which 
infests  sandy  areas  where  the  seals  are  crowded  and  the  ground  has  become  filthy. 

The  embryos  of  the  worm  are  taken  in  from  the  fur  of  the  mother  by  the  nursing 
pup  and  develop  in  the  intestines,  sucking  the  blood  and  causing  the  pup  to  die  of 
anaemia.  It  is  an  infantile  disease,  and  those  which  do  not  die  before  the  middle  of 
August  outgrow  it  and  survive.  After  that  time  these  natural  or  accidental  causes 
of  death  have  but  little  effect  on  the  pups,  though,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  another 
and  more  serious  cause  of  death  presently  begins,  namely,  the  starvation  of  the  young 
due  to  the  loss  of  the  mother  at  sea.  For  this  man  is  solely  responsible. 

THE  COUNT  OF  EARLY  DEAD  PUPS  IN  1896. 

This  early  mortality  among  the  pups  was  made  the  object  of  a  careful  enumera- 
tion in  1896.  A  full  record  of  the  count  by  rookeries  will  be  found  in  the  statistical 
appendix  to  this  report.  The  following  counts  of  the  a death  traps"  where  the  injury 
of  the  worm  was  greatest  will  give  some  idea  of  its  destructive  effects : 

Record  of  pups,  1896. 


Rookery. 

Pnps  born. 

Pups  dead 
(August). 

Tolstoi  (main,  including  sand  flat)  

11,  775 

1.495 

Xapadni  

17  648 

3  095 

Reef  

15  258 

950 

Gorbatch  

9  142 

712 

1  This  subject  is  more  fully  treated  iu  a  special  paper  by  Mr.  Lucas  iu  Part  III. 


ENEMIES    OF    THE    FUR    SEAL. 


71 


On  the  island  of  St.  George  a  complete  census  of  the  dead  pups  for  both  seasons 
was  made.  This  will  illustrate  the  relative  death  rate  on  typical  rookery  ground  from 
more  or  less  accidental  causes.  The  worm  is  practically  absent  from  the  rookeries  of 
St.  George,  which  are  all  located  on  bowlder  beaches.  On  these  rookeries  there  were 
born  in  1896  about  19,000  pups;  in  1897, 10,000.  The  following  is  the  count  of  dead 
pups  by  rookeries : 

Comparative  counts  of  dead  pups,  St.  George. 


Rookery. 

1896. 

1897. 

North  

259 

244 

Little  East  

31 

34 

East  

112 

93 

Zapadni  

199 

112 

Staraya  Artel  

135 

75 

Total  

736 

558 

THE  DEPARTURE  OF  THE  SEALS. 

At  the  first  approach  of  winter,  usually  in  November,  the  cows  and  pups  go  away 
together.  The  pups  are  doubtless  weaned  at  this  time,  as  they  nurse  and  subsist 
solely  on  their  mothers'  milk  until  the  time  of  their  departure.  Following  the  example 
of  their  elders,  they  doubtless  soon  learn  to  subsist  on  fish.  They  have  a  hard  time 
of  it  the  first  season  by  reason  of  the  difficulty  of  securing  food  and  because  of  the 
severity  of  the  winter  storms.  It  is  pretty  clearly  ascertained  that  only  about 
one-half  return  the  second  spring,  and  that  not  more  than  one-third  of  those  born 
reach  the  age  of  3  years. 

THE  ENEMIES   OF   THE   SEAL. 

What  enemies  the  seals  encounter  on  their  migrations  we  do  not  know.  Doubt- 
less the  greatest  cause  of  destruction  among  them  is  the  storms  of  winter,  and  these 
affect  most  strongly  the  old  or  injured  and  the  young  and  inexperienced,  which 
possibly  fail  to  secure  the  requisite  amount  of  food. 

Much  has  been  said  about  the  ravages  of  certain  species  of  sharks.  It  is  not 
known  that  any  shark  preys  upon  them,  in  the  north  at  least.  The  Great  Killer 
(Orca  orca)  is  a  known  source  of  loss  about  the  islands.  Whether  the  killers  attack 
them  in  the  open  ocean  or  not  is  not  known,  though  it  is  probable  that  they  do  not 
to  any  great  extent. 

THE   GREAT   KILLER. 

Killers  were  seen  in  schools  of  from  three  to  seven  plying  about  the  islands  in 
the  latter  part  of  September,  undoubtedly  destroying  many  pups.  These  big  fish 
swim  into  the  bays,  which  fairly  swarm  with  seals,  old  and  young,  at  this  time. 
Their  course,  as  they  move  along  the  rookery  fronts,  is  marked  by  hovering  gulls, 
which  alight  to  pick  up  the  fragments.  The  seals  seem  absolutely  stupid  in  presence  v 
of  the  danger. 

On  one  occasion  after  a  raid  by  these  killers  the  carcass  of  a  mangled  cow 
was  found  washed  up  on  Zoltoi  Sands.  On  another  occasion  a  killer  in  heavy  surf 
followed  the  seals  into  Village  Cove  and  became  stranded  on  the  rocks,  but  another 


72  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

heavy  roller  enabled  it  to  get  away  before  steps  could  be  taken  to  kill  it.  One  of  its 
mangled  victims,  a  large  gray  pup,  was  washed  ashore,  and  an  opportunity  was  thus 
given  for  its  examination. 

The  killers  are  reported  to  visit  the  islands  also  in  the  spring  at  about  the  time 
of  the  landing  of  the  cows,  and  a  few  were  seen  early  in  June  in  the  spring  of  1897. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  these  animals,  and  the  destruction  they  may  cause,  their 
feeding  on  the  fur  seals  can  not  be  considered  as  more  than  incidental,  else  they  would 
remain  about  the  islands  all  summer.  They  probably  do  not  depend  upon  the  seals  in 
any  way  for  food. 

THE  DEPARTURE  OF  BACHELORS  AND  BULLS. 

The  bachelors  still  linger  about  the  islands  after  the  departure  of  the  cows.  They 
\J  are  taken  for  food  by  the  natives  all  through  the  mouth  of  December  and  at  times  far 
into  January.  On  mild  winters  they  are  to  be  seen  about  the  islands  all  winter. 
Thus,  in  the  season  of  1896-97,  a  food  drive  was  made  on  December  14,  and  seals  were 
reported  on  Sivutch  Rock  on  December  30,  January  7  and  29,  February  6  and  16. 
Nineteen  seals  were  killed  for  food  oil  the  rock  on  March  2. 

But  as  a  rule  November  closes  the  stay  of  the  seals  on  the  islands,  and,  class  by 
class,  they  set  out  on  their  winter  migrations. 

THE   SWIMMING   OF   THE   SEALS. 

The  fur  seal  is  wonderfully  adapted  for  its  long  winter  residence  in  the  water. 
Its  movements  are  as  quick  and  graceful  as  those  of  a  fish.  In  swimming  it  uses  the 
fore  flippers  only.  The  hind  flippers  are  held  flat  together,  projecting  backward  like 
a  rudder,  and  they  may  serve  the  animal  in  that  capacity. 

There  are  abrupt  cliffs  on  St.  Paul  Island  from  which  the  motions  of  the  swimming 

/  seals  can  be  watched.    A  stone  thrown  near  a  submerged  seal  causes  it  to  turn  about 

and  dart  away  with  lightning  speed.    So  rapid  are  its  movements  when  thus  disturbed 

that  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  the  motion  of  the  flippers,  which  are  powerful 

enough  in  the  case  of  the  bull  to  make  the  water  boil  in  foam. 

THE   RATE   OF   TRAVEL. 

In  traveling  rapidly  the  seal  alternately  rises  clear  of  the  water  and  dives  under 
it  in  a  series  of  compound  curves.  The  dolphin-like  leap,  "breaching"  as  it  is  called, 
enables  the  animal  without  loss  of  time  to  recover  its  breath.  How  fast  the  seals  can 
travel  is  not  known  and  can  probably  not  be  computed.  They  have,  however,  been 
seen  to  follow  and  swim  with  apparent  ease  about  vessels  going  at  from  10  to  12  knots 
per  hour.  Under  force  of  circumstances  they  could  doubtless  reach  a  higher  rate 
of  speed,  but  whether  it  could  be  continued  through  long  distances  can  not  be  known. 

Observations  of  the  movements  of  a  branded  cow  on  Lukanin  rookery  in  1897 
seemed  to  indicate  that  in  her  earliest  absences  she  was  gone  from  three  to  four  days. 
As  the  feeding  grounds  in  Bering  Sea  are  upward  of  100  miles  distant  from  the 
islands  some  idea  of  the  distance  she  must  have  traveled  can  be  gained.  She  would 
doubtless  spend  some  time  on  the  feeding  banks  eating  and  resting.  This  trip  the 
females  make  regularly  throughout  the  summer  at  intervals  of  from  five  to  ten  or  more 
days.  Further  evidence  of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  seals  travel  can  be  seen  in 


THE  SOUTHERN  FUR  SEALS.  73 

the  fact  that,  though  the  females  do  not  leave  the  islands  much  before  the  middle  of 
November,  they  are  taken  oft'  the  coast  of  Southern  California  in  December.  Their 
trip  down  through  the  ocean  must  be  rapid  and  more  or  less  direct. 

HABITS  OF  THE  SOUTHERN   FUR  SEALS. 

It  may  be  worth  our  while  to  coutrast  with  the  foregoing  account  of  the  fur 
seal  of  the  north  some  account  of  the  life  history  of  the  fur  seal  of  the  Southern 
Hemisphere,  the  species  of  Arctocephalus,  from  the  recorded  observations  of  such 
early  explorers  and  sealers  as  Delano,  Fanning,  Wedell,  and  Morrell.  Dr.  J.  A.  Allen 
has  brought  together  in  a  paper,  which  appears  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Paris 
Tribunal  the  important  notes  bearing  upon  this  subject.1  Without  quoting  in  detail 
we  may  here  give  a  brief  summary  of  these  observations. 

THEIR   MOVEMENTS. 

The  adult  males  land  first  in  November,  taking  up  their  places  on  the  rookeries 
and  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  females,  which  come  in  December  to  bring  forth  their 
young.  They  come  and  go,  caring  for  their  youiig,  until  about  the  1st  of  February, 
when  the  pups  are  left  to  shift  for  themselves. 

In  February  the  younger  males  or  bachelors  come  on  shore  to  shed  their  hair 
which  is  accomplished  by  about  the  1st  of  May.  This  period  corresponds  to  our 
stagy  season.  The  bachelors  then  take  to  the  water  and  do  not  return  on  shore  much 
before  the  1st  of  July.  For  a  month  or  six  weeks  they  come  and  go  regularly, 
abandoning  the  shore  at  the  end  of  this  time  until  some  time  in  August.  For  the  rest 
of  the  season  mixed  herds,  young  males  and  females,  occupy  the  shores,  coming  and 
going  at  intervals,  until  the  old  males  begin  to  arrive  in  November.  The  young 
then  retire. 

This  seems  to  be  the  round  of  life  for  the  various  classes  as  recorded.  There 
is  no  lucid  account  of  what  becomes  of  the  adult  males  and  females  after  the  offices 
of  reproduction  are  accomplished.  The  bulls  are  reported  as  fasting  from  the  time  of 
their  arrival  until  the  breeding  season  is  over,  when  they  leave  thin  and  lean,  to  return 
the  following  season  plump  and  fat. 

THEY  DO   NOT   MIGRATE. 

It  is  asserted  that  the  seals  do  not  migrate,  though  the  record  of  observations 
seem  to  indicate  that  certain  classes  of  the  animals  are  absent  from  their  breeding 
places  for  longer  or  shorter  periods.  While  some  of  the  animals  are  about  the  shores 
at  all  seasons,  the  evidence  seems  to  show  that  they  are  of  different  classes  and  have 
different  periods  of  movement. 

BREEDING   HABITS. 

The  offices  of  reproduction  are  accomplished  on  land.  The  female  bears,  as  a 
rule,  a  single  pup,  though  suggestions  of  the  possibility  of  twins  and  even  triplets 
are  offered.  The  young  are  helpless  at  birth  and  learn  to  swim  about  a  month 
afterwards.  It  is  freely  suggested  that  the  mothers  teach  them.  The  pup  at  birth  is 
covered  with  black  hair.  It  gets  its  fur  and  changes  its  black  hair  for  a  coat  of  gray 
in  a  month  or  six  weeks. 


1  Appendix  IT.  S.  Case,  Fnr  Seal  Arb.,  Vol.  I,  p.  375. 


74  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

BREEDING    GROUNDS. 

The  seals  occupy  for  their  breeding  places  narrow  bowlder  beaches  at  the  foot 
of  high  cliffs  and  extend  their  harems  into  the  crevasses  and  channels  in  the  cliffs 
through  which  streams  flow.  In  places  their  breeding  grounds  extend  inland  one  or 
two  hundred  yards.  The  animals  clamber  over  the  rocks,  reaching  places  inaccessible 
to  man.  They  have  good  powers  of  locomotion,  and  the  young  walk  on  all  fours. 

In  climatic  conditions  the  home  of  the  southern  fur  seals  resembles  that  of 
the  northern,  though  there  is  not  the  same  marked  difference  between  summer  and 
winter.  Doubtless  there  is  no  migration  because  no  necessity  for  it.  An  average 
annual  temperature  of  from  40°  to  45°  is  recorded,  which  is  about  the  summer 
climate  of  the  Pribilof  Islands.  The  sky  is  almost  constantly  overcast.  Bain  falls 
daily. 

The  fur  seals  of  the  south  are  gregarious  and  herd  closely  crowded  on  their 
rookery  grounds,  class  by  class.  The  young  males  are  forced  to  withdraw  by  them- 
selves in  the  breeding  season. 

THE   FIGHTING   OF   THE   BULLS. 

The  bulls  struggle  with  one  another  for  possession  of  the  cows  as  they  land. 
Each  harem  has  from  fifteen  to  twenty  cows.  These  are  jealously  guarded  and  are 
not  permitted  to  leave.  The  bulls  fight  valiantly  against  intrusion,  whether  by  one 
of  their  own  number  or  by  man. 

There  is  the  same  disparity  between  the  males  and  females.  The  former  is 
recorded  as  6  to  7  feet  long,  the  latter  about  4,  with  a  corresponding  difference  in 
weight. 

They  are  found  sleeping  and  playing  in  the  water,  just  as  the  fur  seals  of  the 
north  are,  and  it  is  reported  easy  to  approach  and  spear  them. 

DIFFERENCE   IN   TIME   OF   BIRTH. 

It  may  be  worthy  to  note  in  this  connection  that  Capt.  W.  L.  Noyes,  who  visited 
the  Galapagos  Islands  during  the  summer  of  1897,  found  cows  with  pups  already 
born  in  July  on  Wenman  Island,  just  north  of  the  equator,  whereas  cows  on  other 
islands  of  the  same  group  to  the  south  of  the  equator,  killed  in  September,  contained 
pups  still  unborn  and  apparently  not  to  be  born  until  October  or  November.  The 
seals  of  these  islands  are  reported  by  others  to  bring  forth  their  young  at  all  seasons. 

There  is,  however,  no  essential  difference  in  the  habits  of  the  seals  of  the  two 
hemispheres.  The  differences  in  date  of  the  stagy  season  and  of  the  breeding  season 
are  matters  dependent  upon  the  climate.  The  absence  of  migration  periods  so  marked 
as  in  the  case  of  the  northern  seals  is  due  to  the  absence  of  such  harsh  conditions  as 
the  winter  of  the  north  exhibits. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  FUR-SEAL  HERD. 

A.  PAST  CONDITIONS. 

We  have  given  in  the  preceding  sketch  a  brief  description  of  the  more  prominent 
general  features  of  the  life  history  of  the  fur  seal.  This  is  only  a  brief  summary  of 
the  record  of  daily  observations  made  by  the  commission,  and  which  is  given  in  full 
in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  report.  Many  of  these  topics  also  are  discussed  in 
greater  detail  in  special  papers  contained  in  Part  III.  We  may  now  pass  to  a 
discussion  of  the  main  questions  involved  in  the  fur-seal  controversy  and  made  the 
principal  object  of  this  investigation.  The  first  and  chief  of  these  relates  to  the 
condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd,  past  and  present. 

ACREAGE  MEASUREMENTS. 

Until  the  season  of  189G  all  estimates  as  to  the  number  of  seals  have  been  based 
upon  acreage  measurements  of  one  sort  or.  another.  In  the  early  days,  when  the 
rookeries  were  teeming  with  seal  life,  it  is  probable  that  any  other  method  of  enumera- 
tion would  have  been  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  At  any  rate,  no  other 
method  was  tried. 

We  may  say  at  the  outset  that  acreage  measurements  of  rookery  population  are 
exceedingly  unsatisfactory.  It  is  no  easy  task  to  find  the  area  of  a  given  rookery. 
Its  length  or  sea  front  is  easily  ascertained,  but  its  average  width  is  at  best  purely  a 
matter  of  conjecture.  It  spreads  out  over  the  level  ground,  shrinks  away  from  a  sand 
beach,  climbs  up  hills  in  gullies,  extends  over  cliff's,  breaks  at  a  cove  to  permit  bachelors 
to  land,  thins  out  among  rocks,  and  widens  in  great  amphitheaters.  Its  lower  boundary 
fluctuates  with  the  tides;  its  inland  extension  grows  daily  with  the  arrival  of  late- 
coming  cows,  and  the  whole  outline  is  changed  in  a  few  days  as  the  bands  of  virgin 
2-year-olds  come  into  the  ranks  late  in  July. 

THE   DIFFICULTY   OF   ACCURATE   RESULTS. 

To  measure  a  rookery,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  its  boundaries  from  a  distance 
in  the  breeding  season,  and  after  the  departure  of  the  seals  to  go  on  the  ground  and 
make  the  necessary  measurements.  It  is  impossible  to  approach  the  breeding  mass 
in  the  height  of  the  season  near  enough  to  locate  landmarks  by  which  the  person 
making  the  measurements  is  to  determine  what  he  is  doing.  The  best  that  can  be 
done  is  to  take  the  natural  features  available,  a  stone  here  or  a  break  in  the  bank,  or 
a  log  of  driftwood  there,  and  trust  to  being  able  to  relocate  them  later  on.  The  occu- 
pancy of  the  seals  themselves  leaves  no  permanent  trace.  Behind  the  rookeries  for  a 
considerable  distance  the  ground  has  exactly  the  same  appearance  as  that  occupied 
by  the  seals,  and  late  in  the  season  the  rookery  population,  where  possible,  moves 
back  over  its  rear  boundary,  taking  up  a  new  position.  Only  natural  landmarks  can 


76  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

therefore  be  taken,  and  in  a  mile  of  rookery  space  the  number  of  distinguishable 
marks  of  this  sort  is  exceedingly  small.  Where  stones  exist,  there  are  thousands  of 
them  practically  indistinguishable.  On  bare  slopes,  as  on  Grorbatch,  Vostochni,  and 
Poloviua,  there  are  no  natural  landmarks  whatever. 

THE    ABSENCE    OF    RELIABLE    SURVEYS. 

If  perfectly  recognizable  artificial  landmarks  could  be  placed  at  every  angle,  turn, 
and  projection  of  the  belt  of  breeding  seals,  or  if  these  points  could  be  taken  from  a 
distance  by  instruments  and  then  reproduced  with  certainty  in  the  same  manner  after 
the  animals  have  left  the  ground,  accurate  results  might  be  obtained.  Nothing  of 
this  kind,  however,  was  done,  at  least  no  landmarks  remain  to  show  for  it. 

THE  IRREGULAR  NATURE  OF  THE  GROUND. 

But  a  determination  of  the  rookery  borders  is  not  the  only  difficulty.  The 
character  of  the  ground  is  extremely  variable.  It  lies  at  every  conceivable  angle 
and  slant.  There  are  narrow,  rocky  beaches  hemmed  in  by  perpendicular  cliffs. 
There  are  long  slopes  of  jagged  bowlders.  There  are  sand  flats  and  cinder  slopes. 
On  the  bare  places  the  seals  still  mass  together  as  closely  as  they  can  be  crowded, 
and  on  the  rocky  areas  they  lie  about  among  the  rocks  as  best  they  can.  Their 
distribution  over  the  rookeries  is  as  irregular  as  the  nature  of  the  ground. 

It  is  in  general  true  that  the  greater  the  number  of  females  the  more  extended  are 
the  boundaries  of  the  rookeries;  but  it  is  also  true  that  with  the  decrease  of  the 
number  of  seals  the  population  of  the  rookeries  grows  sparse  without  a  corresponding 
decrease  of  dimensions.  It  is  probable  that  when  the  seals  were  more  numerous 
they  were  as  evenly  distributed  over  the  ground  as  its  nature  would  permit,  and 
the  greater  part  of  each  rookery  was  closely  massed ;  but  at  the  present  time  their 
distribution  is  very  irregular,  as  unequal  as  the  arrangement  of  the  trees  in  the 
forest.  On  some  of  the  rookeries,  as  on  Tolstoi  sands,  in  the  breeding  season  the 
seals  lie  as  thick  as  swarms  of  bees.  On  other  rookeries,  as  the  Lagoon,  detached 
harems  sprawl  over  the  rocks  and  individual  seals  are  greatly  scattered.  Nor  are 
the  mechanical  imperfection  of  these  estimates  all.  The  counts  of  live  pups  made 
during  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  show  that  at  the  time  when  these  past  estimates 
were  made  not  more  than  half  of  the  cows  are  present  at  any  one  time. 

ACREAGE   MEASUREMENTS   CHIEFLY   GUESSWORK. 

In  a  word,  the  acreage  measurements  of  the  rookeries  in  the  past  have  been  based 
chiefly  upon  guesswork.  More  guessing  has  been  done  in  determining  the  space  to 
be  assigned  to  individual  animals,  and  finally  the  rookery  population  sought  to  be 
enumerated  has  at  best  represented  only  about  half  the  actual  number  of  animals 
belonging  to  the  herd.  The  last  element  of  uncertainty  was  not  known  until  1896,  it 
having  been  assumed  up  to  that  time  that  during  the  period  between  the  10th  and 
20th  of  July  all  or  practically  all  the  animals  belonging  to  the  breeding  herd  were 
present  upon  the  rookeries. 

THE  MAGNITUDE  OF  THE  PROBLEM. 

It  is  easy  to  find  in  the  magnitude  of  the  problem  an  explanation  for  the  adoption 
of  such  a  faulty  method.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  find  an  excuse  for  implicit  reliance 


ESTIMATES    OF    NUMBER,    OF    FUR    SEALS.  77 

put  upon  its  results.  The  parts  of  rookeries  which  can  be  counted  to-day  are  so 
circumscribed  by  cliffs  and  the  narrowness  of  the  beaches  that  to  make  a  count  of 
them,  even  at  the  time  of  the  greatest  density  of  their  population,  would  have  been 
but  little  more  difficult  than  it  is  to-day.  More  seals  were  present  on  a  given  area, 
but  the  area  was  no  greater.  The  counting  of  these  areas  would  of  course  not  have 
relieved  the  difficulty  as  to  a  complete  census;  but  a  definite  and  exact  enumeration, 
even  of  so  small  and  accessible  a  breeding  ground  as  Spilki,  in  1874,  could  not  have 
failed  to  clear  up  many  of  the  problems  which  have  tended  to  increase  the  confusion 
in  past  conditions. 

EARLY   ESTIMATES. 

In  considering  the  various  estimates  of  earlier  times,  we  purposely  pass  over  that 
of  Bishop  Veniaminof.  It  is  too  vague  and  unsatisfactory  to  be  of  any  value.  It 
is,  moreover,  a  prophecy  of  future  results,  based  on  assumed  premises,  rather  than  a 
measure  of  actual  conditions.  Furthermore,  it  was  made  at  a  time  (about  1834)  when, 
as  we  know,  the  herd  had  reached  from  some  cause  or  other  a  state  of  approximate 
annihilation. 

CAPTAIN  BRYANT'S  ESTIMATE. 

After  the  islands  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States  the  first  attempt 
to  reach  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  seals  was  made  by  Capt.  Charles  Bryant,  agent 
of  the  Government,  sent  in  1860  to  investigate  the  condition  of  the  herd.  Captain 
Bryant  sums  up  his  method  of  enumeration  as  follows:1 

There  are  at  least  12  miles  of  shore  line  on  the  island  of  St.  Paul  occupied  by  the  seals  as 
breeding  grounds,  with  the  average  width  of  15  rods.  There  being  about  twenty  seals  to  the  square 
rod,  gives  1,152,000  as  the  whole  number  of  breeding  males  and  females.  Deducting  one-tenth  for 
males  leaves  1,037,800  breeding  females. 

He  estimates  the  number  of  seals  on  St.  George  at  one-half  the  number  on  St. 
Paul.  He  further  makes  a  rough  estimate  of  the  number  of  nonbreeding  males,  but 
he  does  not  work  it  out  or  give  a  total.  In  comparing  the  estimate  of  Captain  Bryant 
with  the  subsequent  estimate  of  Mr.  Elliott  it  must  be  noted  that  the  young  are  not 
included. 

THE  FIRST  ACREAGE  ENUMERATION. 

This  estimate  is  crude  both  in  its  methods  and  in  its  results,  but  it  certainly 
contains  the  germ  of  all  subsequent  acreage  estimates  of  the  seals.  It  was  made  and 
its  results  were  published  at  least  two  years  before  the  work  of  Mr.  Elliott,  which 
was  begun  in  1872.  Whatever  credit,  therefore,  belongs  to  the  invention  and  execution 
of  this  method  of  arriving  at  the  population  of  the  rookeries  must  rest  with  Captain 
Bryant.  His  enumeration,  though  but  a  rough  approximation,  and  probably  so 
considered  by  him,  brought  for  the  first  time  the  fur-seal  herd  within  the  range  of  a 
numerical  estimate. 

ELLIOTT'S  ESTIMATE  OF  1872-1874. 

The  next  attempt  at  enumeration  was  made  in  1872-1874  by  Henry  W.  Elliott, 
special  agent  sent  by  the  United  States  Treasury  Department  to  investigate  the  con- 
dition of  the  herd.  He  followed  the  same  general  method  inaugurated  by  Captain 


Bull.  Mus.  Comp.  Zool.,  1870,  Vol.  II,  p.  106. 


78  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Bryant,  finding  the  shore  extent  and  width  of  the  rookeries  and  allotting  a  certain 
space  to  each  individual  animal.  He,  however,  worked  out  the  plan  in  much  greater 
detail. 

IMPORTANT   ASSUMPTIONS. 

In  Mr.  Elliott's  census  two  important  assumptions  are  made  at  the  outset.  The 
first  is  that  the  time  when  the  rookery  population  has  reached  its  "  exact  margin  of 
expansion,  at  the  week  of  its  greatest  volume,  or  when  the  rookeries  are  as  full  as 
they  are  to  be  during  the  season,  is  between  the  10th  and  20th  of  July  every  year;  not 
a  day  earlier  and  not  many  days  later."  l  Mr.  Elliott  assumes  as  a  result  of  this  obser- 
vation that  at  the  period  in  question  all,  or  practically  all,  of  the  animals  were  present 
and  would  be  included  in  an  enumeration  made  at  that  time. 

THE    LAW    OF    DISTRIBUTION. 

He  then  assumed2  "an  imperative  and  instinctive  law  of  distribution,  recognized 
by  each  and  every  seal,"  in  obedience  to  which  "  the  breeding  grounds  occupied  by 
them  were  invariably  covered  with  seals  in  exact  ratio,  greater  or  less,  as  the  area 
upon  which  they  rested  was  larger  or  smaller;"  that  the  seals  "  always  covered  the 
ground  evenly,  never  crowding  in  at  one  place  here  to  scatter  out  there;"  that  "on  a 
rod  of  ground  under  the  face  of  bluffs,  which  hem  it  in  from  the  sea,  there  are  just  as 
many  seals,  no  more  nor  less,  as  will  be  found  on  any  other  rod  of  rookery  ground 
throughout  the  whole  list,  great  or  small." 

BOTH  ASSUMPTIONS  INCORRECT. 

One  who  is  familiar  with  the  nature  of  the  breeding  grounds  can  not  help  feeling 
that  in  the  formulation  of  this  law  Mr.  Elliott  did  not  have  the  picture  of  the 
rookeries  before  him.  Had  he  traveled  over  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  rookeries, 
as  was  done  in  1896  and  1897,  he  never  would  have  proposed  such  a  law.  That  there 
should  be  as  many  seals  to  the  square  rod  on  the  jagged  and  broken  lava  blocks  of 
Kitovi,  or  on  the  broken  slopes  of  Gorbatch,  where  the  animals  are  now  and  must  have 
then  been  separated  by  bowlders  weighing  tons,  should  be  the  same  as  on  the  smooth 
sand  flat  of  Tolstoi  or  the  level  slope  of  Htitchinsou  Hill  is  on  the  face  of  it  impossible. 

THE   TRUE   LAW   OF  DISTRIBUTION. 

The  law  of  distribution  which  the  fur  seal  obeys  is  very  simple.  The  gregarious 
instinct  of  the  animals  leads  them  to  crowd  together  as  closely  as  possible.  They  are, 
therefore,  even  now  to  be  found  in  as  close  proximity  as  the  nature  of  the  ground  will 
permit.  Where  the  ground  is  broken  and  interspersed  with  angular  bowlders  they 
are  necessarily  farther  apart  than  where  the  ground  is  free  from  obstructions.  It  is 
probable  that  in  Mr.  Elliott's  time  the  seals,  because  more  numerous,  were  more  evenly 
distributed,  but  the  nature  of  the  ground  would  never  permit  the  same  distribution 
everywhere. 

STABILITY   OF   ROOKERY   CONDITIONS   ONLY  APPARENT. 

For  the  first  assumption  Mr.  Elliott  has  some  justification.  During  the  period  in 
question  rookery  conditions  are  to  the  eye  of  the  observer  apparently  stable  and  fixed. 

1  Elliott,  Monograph  Far-Seal  Islands,  1881,  p.  50.  *  Ibid.,  p.  49. 


ESTIMATES    OF    MR.    ELLIOTT.  79 

That  they  were  so  was  held  as  a  tradition  from  Elliott's  time  down  to  1896.  It  was, 
however,  a  great  mistake  to  assume,  as  has  been  done,  that  at  that  time  all  the  seals 
were  present.  Counts  of  live  pups l  made  in  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  show  that  at 
the  height  of  the  season  not  over  half  of  the  cows  are  actually  present  at  any  one  time. 
The  apparent  stability  of  the  rookeries  is  due  to  the  fact  that  then  the  arrivals  and 
departures  among  the  cows  for  a  time  practically  balance  each  other  at  their  maximum 
point.  But  daily  counts  of  the  rookeries  show  that  the  stability  is  in  no  sense  real, 
there  being  from  day  to  day  even  then  a  variation  of  from  10  to  30  per  cent  in  the 
rookery  population.2 

RESULTS    OF    MR.    ELLIOTT'S   ENUMERATION. 

But  of  these  things  Mr.  Elliott  was  not  aware.  He  was  content  to  assume  that 
all  the  cows  were  there  and,  moreover,  though  he  could  not  locate  the  virgin  2-year- 
olds,  a  class  of  animals  numbering,  in  his  estimate,  225,000,  which  were  not  present 
until  long  after  it  was  made,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  assume  that  they  were  included. 
He  was  also  content  with  his  impossible  law  of  distribution.  It  only  remained  for  him, 
therefore,  to  find  the  area  of  breeding  ground  occupied  and  to  divide  it  by  the  unit  of 
space  to  be  assigned  to  each  individual  animal,  to  arrive  at  the  rookery  population. 
As  a  result  he  found,  in  his  estimate  of  6,386,840  square  feet  of  rookery  ground  on  the 
two  islands,  "room,"  as  he  puts  it,  "for  3,193,420  breeding  seals  and  young."3 

THE   FIGURES   UNREASONABLE. 

Waiving,  for  a  moment,  the  method  of  obtaining  these  figures,  we  may  remark 
that  they  are  not  easy  to  understand.  Of  this  total  of  "breeding  seals  and  young," 
Mr.  Elliott,  in  the  same  connection,  tells  us  that  1,000,000  are  "young."  There  must 
then  be  an  equal  number  of  mothers,  or  2,000,000  adult  breeding  females  and  their 
pups.  To  this  must  be  added  the  young  2-year-old  cows  which  are  included,  though 
not  present.  Mr.  Elliott  has  himself  given  us  an  estimate  of  these.  Considering 
that  of  the  1,000,000  pups  born  500,000  are  females,  he  says  that  "at  least  225,000  of 
them  safely  return  in  the  second  season  after  birth."  This,  therefore,  gives  us  a  total 
of  2,225,000  females  and  young  in  the  complete  estimate  of  3,193,420,  leaving  868,420 
animals  which  can  only  be  accounted  for  as  breeding  bulls.  This  is  impossible,  and 
yet  no  other  explanation  of  the  discrepancy  is  at  hand.  Mr.  Elliott  estimates,  in  a 
separate  category,  all  the  nonbreeding  males  and  the  yearling  females,  finding 
1,500,000  of  them.  Of  the  breeding  bulls,  as  a  class,  Mr.  Elliott  does  not  give  us  a 
separate  estimate  in  1872.  but  in  1890  he  tells  us  they  numbered  90,000  at  that  time. 

THE    METHOD    OF   ENUMERATION  .FAULTY. 

But  if  these  figures  were  in  themselves  reasonable,  we  must  still  take  exception  to 
the  method  by  which  they  were  obtained.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  general 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  acreage  measurements.  On  his  method  of  surveying  the 
rookeries  Mr.  Elliott  has  given  us  practically  no  data.  He  dismisses  the  subject 
with  the  remark  "that  there  is  no  more  difficulty  in  surveying  these  margins  than 
there  is  in  drawing  sight  along  the  curbs  of  a  stone  fence  surrounding  a  field,"  a 
statement  which  is  not  by  any  means  self-evident  to  anyone  who  has  visited  the 


See  page  109.        *  See  page  54.        :!  Elliott,  Monograph  of  Fur-Seal  Islands,  1881,  p.  61. 


80  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

fur-seal  rookeries.  The  surveys  of  the  rookeries  themselves  can  not  be  verified,  for 
the  conditions  have  changed  with  the  reduction  of  the  herd,  and  no  permanent  land- 
marks were  left.  Not  even  of  the  survey  of  1890  is  there  left  a  single  recognizable 
stake  or  stone  to  show  that  it  ever  existed.  All  that  is  left  of  either  survey  is 
the  unsatisfactory  estimate  of  the  seals  based  upon  it.  These  surveys  should 
have  formed  the  basis  for  subsequent  comparisons  of  the  condition  of  the  rookeries. 
As  such  they  would  have  been  extremely  valuable,  but  all  traces  of  them  have 
disappeared. 

THE  SURVEYS  CAN  NOT  BE  VERIFIED. 

It  is  therefore  not  possible  for  us  to  verify  Mr.  Elliott's  surveys  of  the  rookeries, 
but  his  maps  giving  the  shore  line  of  the  islands  are  available  as  a  measure  of  his 
work  as  a  surveyor.  Of  these  maps  Captain  Moser,  in  his  hydrographic  report1  on 
the  islands  in  189G,  made  certain  tests.  Of  Mr.  Elliott's  shore  line  he  says :  "  It  was 
a  bad  misfit  *  *  *  and  rarely  stood  the  test  of  an  instrumental  angle."  He 
further  says  of  the  topography  of  the  maps  that  "  it  is  so  vague  and  indefinite  that 
it  is  next  thing  to  impossible  to  do  anything  with  them;  I  should  call  them  sketches." 
If  this  is  true  of  the  fixed  and  permanent  shore  line,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that 
the  changing  rookery  margins,  which  were  necessarily  noted  from  a  distance  in  the 
summer  and  measured  in  winter,  after  they  had  melted  away,  were  more  correctly 
located. 

THE   EFFECT   OF   INACCURATE   SURVEYS. 

The  correctness  of  the  survey  of  the  rookeries  is  of  vital  importance  to  the 
accuracy  of  this  enumeration.  This  importance  does  not  lie  in  ascertaining  the 
mere  length  of  a  given  rookery.  This  can  be  easily  obtained,  and  in  any  event  a 
mistake  of  a  few  feet  or  of  a  hundred  feet  in  the  length  is  comparatively  insignificant; 
but  the  width  of  the  rookery  is  another  matter.  To  each  one  of  seven  of  the  ten 
rookeries  of  St.  Paul  Island,  Mr.  Elliott  ascribes  an  even  average  width  of  150  feet. 
Two  of  the  remaining  breeding  grounds  have  a  width  of  100  feet  each,  and  the  third 
40  feet.  Therefore,  for  the  40,000  feet  of  rookery  shore  line  on  this  island,  35,000  have 
an  average  width  of  150  feet.2  Suppose  there  is  an  error  of  but  1  foot  in  this  average 
width,  it  is  multiplied  throughout  the  entire  distance.  According  to  the  method  of 
the  computation  involved  this  would  mean  the  addition  or  subtraction  of  17,500 
animals,  depending  upon  the  side  upon  which  the  error  falls.  Again,  suppose  the 
average  width  was  140  or  160  feet,  this  would  mean  a  difference  of  175,000  seals  one 
way  or  the  other,  as  the  case  might  be. 

AN  INADEQUATE  UNIT  OF  SPACE. 

But  aside  from  the  question  of  accuracy  in  the  surveys  themselves,  Mr.  Elliott 
has  assigned  an  impossible  space  to  each  individual  seal.  His  unit  of  space  is  2 
square  feet  to  each  animal,  young  or  old,  or  4  square  feet  for  the  cows,  ignoring  the 

1  Hydrographic  Notes,  Captain  Moser,  Part  III. 

2  Whatever  the  average  width  of  each  rookery  may  have  been,  it  is  certain  that  it  was  not  the 
same  for  all.     Neither  now  nor  at  any  past  time  have  Tolstoi,  Polovina,  A'ostochni,  the  Reef,  Kitovi, 
Lnkanin,  and  /apadni  had  the  same  "average  width."    The  150  feet  is  a  guess,  and  that  only. 


ESTIMATES    OF    NUMBERS.  81 

pups.  The  average  adult  female  is  4  feet  long,  and  measures  an  equal  distance  from 
tip  to  tip  of  her  outstretched  fore-flippers.  In  a  standing  position  she  would  need  at 
least  3  square  feet,  but  as  the  cows  are  constantly  moving  about,  and  coming  and 
going  to  and  from  the  sea,  it  is  impossible  to  limit  one  to  such  a  space. 

A  MORE   RATIONAL   UNIT   OF    SPACE. 

During  the  past  two  seasons  an  effort  was  made  to  test  the  unit  of  space  which 
the  average  seal  occupies.  A  count  of  050  closely  crowded  dead  bodies  on  Poloviua 
killing  ground  showed  that  each  body  occupied  a  space  of  13£  square  feet.  The 
arrangement  and  proximity  of  these  bodies  corresponded  very  nearly  to  the  condition 
of  the  massed  rookery  where  the  animals  are  stretched  out  sleeping.  On  Ardiguen 
rookery  a  harem  containing  thirty  three  sleeping  cows  and  pups  was  observed  on  a 
flat  space  circumscribed  by  stones  in  such  a  way  that  its  boundaries  could  be  definitely 
located.  Later  in  the  season,  when  the  seals  had  abandoned  the  spot,  it  was  measured 
and  found  to  give  8  square  feet  to  each  animal,  old  and  young.  This  may  be  regarded 
as  an  example  of  extreme  massing,  as  the  animals  could  not  have  been  packed  closer 
together.  The  great  sand  flat  of  Tolstoi,  the  most  densely  massed  rookery  ground  on 
the  islands,  was  roughly  measured  late  in  the  season  of  1896  and  found  to  contain 
about  140,000  square  feet.  Each  of  the  11,000  animals  estimated  for  this  area 
would  therefore  have  a  space  of  about  13  square  feet.  Messrs.  True  and  Townsend, 
in  1895,  found  the  average  space  for  each  individual  adult  seal  in  unmassed  areas, 
as  on  Lagoon  or  Tolstoi  cliffs,  to  be  40  square  feet.  For  the  massed  areas  a  space 
one-half  as  great,  or  23  square  feet,  was  arbitrarily  assumed. 

It  is  true  that  Mr.  Elliott  justifies,  in  part,  his  small  unit  of  space  by  certain 
references  to  the  coming  and  going  of  the  animals.  He  asserts  that  after  the  pups 
are  born  the  individual  cows  are  not  on  "their  allotted  space  one-fourth  of  the  time,'' 
and  that  the  females  "almost  double  their  number  on  the  rookery  ground  without 
expanding  its  original  limits."  But  Mr.  Elliott  failed  to  grasp  what  this  really 
meant.  He  sees  in  it  only  justification  for  the  unit  of  space  which  he  has  assigned 
to  the  individual  animals.  It  should  have  called  his  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
breeding  seals  which  he  saw  before  him,  and  which  he  was  attempting  to  enumerate, 
were  but  a  part  and  not  the  whole  of  the  rookery  population. 

THE   ESTIMATE   FOR   KITOVI  AND   LUKANIN   ROOKERIES. 

When  we  leave  the  general  features  of  this  estimate  and  come  to  consider  its 
details  we  find  still  less  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  it.  Of  all  the  rookeries  Kitovi  and 
Lukaniu  have  been  most  minutely  studied  and  counted  during  the  seasons  of  1896  and 
1897.  Their  present  conditions  are  absolutely  known.  They  may  be  taken  as  typical 
examples.  To  these  two  rookeries  in  1874  Mr.  Eli.iott  ascribes  a  total  population  of 
335,000  "breeding  seals  and  young,"  or  158,000  breeding  females,  and,  using  his 
estimate  of  15  cows  to  an  average  harem,  10,000  active  bulls.  At  present  there  are 
318  bulls,  or  less  than  one-thirtieth  the  former  number,  and  9,000  breeding  females, 
less  than  one-seventeenth  the  former  number. 

To  anyone  who  understands  the  situation  of  these  rookeries  this  is  simply  absurd. 
It  would  be  impossible  to  plat  10,000  harems  on  the  space  they  occupy  at  present  or 
15184 0 


82  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

which  they  occupied  at  any  time  past.  Mr.  Elliott's  o\vu  maps  show,  when  compared 
with  present  conditions,  that  DO  such  reduction  has  occurred.  His  average  width  of 
150  feet  for  these  rookeries  proves  the  same  thing.  With  such  figures  nothing  can  be 
done.  Mr.  Elliott  must  have  been  wholly  devoid  of  mathematical  sense  or  else  must 
have  failed  to  appreciate  what  his  figures  really  meant.  No  other  hypothesis  will 
account  for  them. 

A  MEASURE   OF   ELLIOTT'S   OVERESTIMATE. 

It  happens  that  in  the  log  of  St.  Paul  are  two  references  to  these  rookeries  which 
throw  light  on  their  early  condition  and  help  us  to  penetrate  the  haze  of  exaggeration 
which  Mr.  Elliott  has  thrown  about  them. 

Under  date  of  May  24,  1880,  Mr.  J.  W.  Beaman,  then  agent  on  St.  Paul,  records 
in  the  log1  of  that  island  that  he  made  "an  inspection  of  Kitovi  and  Lukanin  rook- 
eries; 112  bulls  were  counted  on  Kitovi  and  142  on  Lukauin,  with  a  possible  error  in 
the  count  of  25  to  50." 

On  the  24th  of  May  by  no  means  all  of  the  bulls  were  in  place,  but  a  reasonable 
proportion  of  them  may  be  supposed  to  have  been.  Mr.  Elliott  tells  us  himself  that 
all  the  bulls  were  located  by  the  1st  of  June.  This,  however,  the  observations  of  the 
season  of  1897  disprove.  A  count  of  North  rookery  of  St.  George  on  June  7  gave  180 
bulls,  where  about  200  harems  existed  in  1896  and  where  196  were  found  a  month  later 
in  1897.  Even  on  the  12th  of  June  a  count  of  bulls  on  Kitovi  rookery  gave  only  156, 
where  182  harems  had  been  in  1896  and  where  later,  in  1897,  179  harems  were  found. 

THE   COUNT  OF  MR.  BEAMAN. 

These  recent  counts  justify  us  in  assuming  that  a  large  proportion  at  least  of  the 
bulls  were  on  the  ground  by  the  24th  of  May,  and  although  we  can  not  say  just  what 
proportion  the  bulls  counted  by  Mr.  Beainan  bore  to  the  whole  number  on  this  rookery 
for  the  season  of  1880,  we  may  rest  assured  that  had  there  been  any  such  number  as 
10,000,  or  even  5,000,  taking  the  average  harem,  which  recent  observations  show  to  be 
correct,  there  would  have  been  at  least  between  1,000  and  2,000  of  them  in  place  on 
that  date. 

Referring  again  to  the  log,  we  find  that  in  1879,  the  preceding  season,  bulls  began 
to  arrive  on  Lukanin  rookery  on  May  2,  and  on  May  17  there  were  60  of  them.  This 
number  is  not  greatly  out  of  proportion  to  the  142  found  a  week  later  the  following 
season,  and  argues  still  more  strongly  against  the  supposition  that  bulls  by  the 
thousand  would  occupy  that  rookery  in  June. 

CAPTAIN  BRYANT'S  NOTE. 

In  this  connection  another  note  in  the  log  of  St.  Paul  Island  has  significance.  In 
the  fall  of  the  year  1876  difficulty  was  experienced  in  securing  the  normal  quota  of 
pup  seals  for  food.  Captain  Bryant,  commenting  on  this,  says:  "Ordinarily  Kitovi 
rookery  alone  would  have  supplied  the  necessary  pups"2 — four  or  five  thousand.  As 
only  males  were  killed,  and  as  a  liberal  allowance  must  be  made  on  account  of  the 
swimming  of  the  pups  for  the  impossibility  of  reaching  all  the  males,  the  inference 

1  Extracts  from  the  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  date  of  May  24,  1880. 
.,  date  of  November  23,  1876. 


ESTIMATES    OF    NUMBERS.  83 

plainly  to  be  drawn  from  this  is  that  at  the  time  in  question  Kitovi  rookery  by  a  most 
liberal  estimate  had  about  20,000  breeding-  cows.  Mr.  Elliott  would  have  us  believe  it 
had  nearly  160,000. 

SPILKI  AND   POLOVINA. 

Two  more  examples  may  be  cited  in  this  connection.  Mr.  Elliott  ascribes  to  Spilki 
rookery  a  population  of  8,000  cows  and  pups  in  1874  and  something  like  260  bulls. 
This  was  a  small  rookery  under  the  hill  behind  the  village  of  St.  Paul,  afterwards 
abandoned.  It  is  recorded  by  Agent  Beamau  in  the  log  for  the  year  1879 l  that  this 
rookery  on  June  20  (a  date  at  which  all  the  harein  bulls  must  have  been  in  place)  had 
23  bulls.  This  is  less  than  one-tenth  of  Mr.  Elliott's  estimate. 

In  the  same  year  Mr.  Beaman  records,  under  date  of  June  10,  that  there  were  "  a 
couple  of  thousand  bulls"  on  Polovina  rookeries,  where  Mr.  Elliott  estimates  fully 
10,000  in  1874. 

While  these  entries  do  not  give  us  definite  proof  as  to  the  early  condition  of  these 
rookeries,  yet  they  clearly  and  conclusively  show  that  Mr.  Elliott's  figures  are  grossly 
exaggerated. 

PERSONAL  ESTIMATES  DIFFER. 

To  sum  the  whole  matter  up,  we  are  unable  to  accept  Mr.  Elliott's  estimate  as 
representing  anything  more  than  an  individual  opinion  greatly  overdrawn  by  a  too- 
vivid  imagination.  The  value  of  individual  opinions  in  matters  of  this  kind  is  well 
shown  by  a  comparison  of  the  estimate  of  Mr.  Elliott  with  that  of  Lieut.  Washburn 
Maynard,  who  was  on  the  islands  in  1874,  with  him.  Lieutenant  Maynard  estimates 
the  total  population  of  the  rookeries  at  6,000,000,  as  against  Mr.  Elliott's  figures  of 
4,700,000.  A  difference  of  a  million  one  way  or  another  seemed  to  be  a  matter  of  no 
moment. 

LOOSE  USE  OF  FIGURES. 

That  Mr.  Elliott  himself  did  not  originally  attach  close  and  definite  meaning  to 
his  own  estimate  is  evident  from  the  discrepancy  already  referred  to,  whereby  he 
assumes  in  his  total  of  3,193,420  "  breeding  seals  and  young  "  that  only  1,000,000  are 
pups.  Further,  on  the  basis  of  this  birthrate,  which  is  an  understatement  of  his  own 
estimate,  he  finds  that  after  making  due  allowance  for  an  "extreme  estimate  of  loss 
sustained  at  sea  "  there  will  still  be  left  "180,000  seals  in  good  condition  that  can  safely 
be  killed  every  year."  The  quota  never  exceeded  100,000,  and  the  turning  back 
annually  of  80,000  young  males  to  grow  up  as  bulls  would  by  1880  have  given  the 
island  a  stock  of  approximately  800,000  bulls.  This,  of  course,  never  occurred,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  no  such  number  of  males  in  excess  of  the  quota  ever  existed 
on  the  islands. 

In  making  the  above  criticisms  of  Mr.  Elliott's  census,  it  has  not  been  our  purpose 
simply  to  tear  down  and  condemn  work  which  in  many  respects  under  the  circum- 
stances deserves  commendation ;  but  a  disposition  has  of  late  been  manifested  to  insist 
upon  the  absolute  correctness  of  these  figures,  and  in  setting  them  aside  it  becomes 
necessary  for  us  to  give  reasons  for  such  action. 


Extracts  from  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  date  of  June  20,  1879. 


84  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

MR.  TINGLE'S  ESTIMATE. 

The  next  estimate  of  the  seals  was  made  in  the  year  1886  by  Mr.  George  E. 
Tingle,  then  Treasury  agent  on  St.  Paul  Island.  Mr.  Tingle  purported  to  measure  the 
breeding  areas  in  the  early  spring  when  unoccupied,  and  then  to  compare  them  with 
the  ground  occupied  in  the  summer  to  make  the  necessary  corrections.  He  found  a 
rookery  space  of  12,715,500  square  feet,  with  a  population  of  6,357,750  breeding  seals 
and  young.  Mr.  Elliott's  rookery  space  had  been  6,386,840  square  feet,  with  a 
population  of  3,193,420  breeding  seals  and  young.  Mr.  Tingle,  however,  took 
exception  to  the  estimate  of  space  assigned  to  the  individual  animals,  believing  it 
too  small.  He  therefore  reduced  his  estimate  by  one-fourth,  or  to  4,768,430,  still 
an  increase  of  1,574,900  over  Mr.  Elliott's  figures. 

THE   ESTIMATE   INCORRECT. 

The  absurdity  of  this  estimate  makes  it  hardly  worth  considering.  At  the  time 
it  was  made  the  herd  was  well  on  the  way  of  decline.  One  element  in  the  estimate 
may  perhaps  be  cited  as  indicative  of  its  value  as  a  whole.  The  rocky  beach  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliffs,  between  the  termination  of  Gorbatch  rookery  and  the  angle  of 
Zoltoi  sands,  was  made  a  separate  rookery,  with  a  population  of  11,000  seals.  The 
ground  has  never  been  occupied  as  breeding  territory.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  purpose  of  this  enumeration,  it  certainly  did  not  give  the  facts  in  the  case. 

ELLIOTT'S  1890  ESTIMATE. 

In  the  year  1890  Mr.  Elliott  again  visited  the  fur-seal  islands  and  made  another 
estimate  of  their  population.  He  employed  the  same  methods  used  in  1872-1874. 
He  found  the  seals  occupying  breeding  territory  to  the  extent  of  1,918,786  square 
feet.1  In  his  former  estimate  the  ground  occupied  contained  6,386,840  square  feet. 
Applying  his  original  space  unit  to  the  area  of  1890,  Mr.  Elliott  found  a  population 
of  959,393  "breeding  seals  and  young." 

THE  1890  ESTIMATE  UNSATISFACTORY. 

For  this  second  estimate  we  can  only  say  that  it  is  as  bad,  if  not  worse,  than  the 
first.  All  that  we  have  said  regarding  the  census  of  1872-1874  applies  with  equal 
force  to  the  census  of  1890,  for,  as  Mr.  Elliott  tells  us,  "it  is  made  in  precisely  the 
same  time  and  method."  We  may  call  attention  specially  to  the  fact  that  notwith- 
standing Lagoon  rookery  is  found  to  be  reduced  from  37,000  animals  to  9,000,  the 
shore  front  of  the  rookery  had  been  doubled  in  length,  being  750  feet  long  in  1872-1874 
and  1,500  in  1890.  No  explanation  is  offered  or  suggested  for  this  extension.  On  the 
island  of  St.  George,  which  has  at  the  best  only  a  limited  extent  of  breeding  territory, 
and  this  probably  fully  occupied  in  1872-1874,  Mr.  Elliott  in  1890  more  than  doubles 
the  length  of  all  its  rookeries.  On  East  rookery  alone  he  expands  the  water  front 
from  900  feet  in  1872-1874  to  3,240  in  1890.  As  a  result  of  this  expansion  he  finds  that 
though  the  seals  have  become  reduced  to  one-fourth  on  St.  Paul  Island,  on  St.  George 
the  reduction  has  only  been  to  one-half. 


1  Elliott's  estimate  for  1890  is  500,000  square  feet  less  in  extent  than  that  of  Messrs.  True  and 
Townsend  for  1895.  Dealing  with  the  more  accurate  maps  and  when  the  herd  was  at  least  a  half 
smaller,  they  found  2,616,063  square  feet  of  rookery  space  as  against  his  1,918,786. 


ESTIMATES    MADE    BY    TRUE    AND    TOWNSEND.  85 

It  is  not  possible  for  us  to  suggest  any  explanation  or  justification  for  the  vagaries 
which  these  estimates  of  Mr.  Elliott  show,  and  they  need  not  be  further  discussed 
here.  In  an  appendix  to  the  recent  republication,1  by  order  of  Congress,  of  reports 
of  agents  and  others  connected  with  the  fur-seal  islands,  they  have  been  considered 
at  length  in  connection  with  the  subject-matter  of  the  reports  of  which  they  are 
a  part. 

THE  TRUE  AND  TOWNSEND  ESTIMATE  FOR  1895. 

The  most  recent  computation  of  the  seals  by  acreage  measurements  is  that  made 
by  Messrs.  True  and  Townseud  in  1895.  In  this  a  decided  improvement  was  made  in 
securing  the  space  unit  occupied  by  the  individual  seal.  Instead  of  using  an  arbitrary 
estimate,  a  count  of  the  cows  was  made  on  Kitovi  and  Lagoon  rookeries  and  on  parts 
of  Lukanin  and  Tolstoi.  The  area  of  the  counted  districts  was  then  taken  from  the 
current  maps,  and  the  average  space  occupied  by  the  individual  seals  found.  For  the 
4,110  cows  counted,  this  average  was  found  to  be  46  square  feet,  ranging  from  65 
square  feet  on  Lagoon  rookery  to  29  on  Tolstoi.  As  the  spaces  counted  were  all  of 
the  scattered  or  "unmassed"  sort,  an  arbitrary  reduction  to  one-half  of  this  space,  or 
23  square  feet,  was  made  for  the  crowded  or  "  massed"  breeding  grounds. 

Taking  these  averages  and  applying  them  to  the  acreage  extent  of  the  breeding 
grounds  as  obtained  from  the  current  maps  of  the  rookeries,  an  estimate  of  the  popu- 
lation of  all  the  rookeries  was  arrived  at.  The  total  number  so  obtained  was  about 
75,000  adult  breeding  seals.  To  make  it  comparable  with  the  former  estimates  of  Mr. 
Elliott  we  may  add  the  70,000  pups,  making  a  total  of  145,000  "breeding  seals  and 


young." 


THE   ESTIMATE   MUST   BE   DOUBLED. 


In  this  enumeration  it  was  assumed  that,  at  the  time  the  census  was  made,  all,  or 
practically  all,  the  animals  were  present,  including  the  yearling  and  2-year-old  females. 
The  effect  of  this  assumption  we  have  already  alluded  to  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Elliott's  estimate.  The  fact  is  that  at  no  time  during  the  season  are  more  than  half 
the  cows  present.  The  estimate  must  therefore  be  doubled  at  least  to  make  it 
represent  actual  conditions. 

IT   ANTICIPATED   THE   SEASON. 

But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  for  the  estimate  of  1895  tins  will  not  be  sufficient.  The 
counts  on  which  the  estimate  is  based  were  made  before  the  real  maximum  of  popula- 
tion on  the  rookeries  was  reached.  The  counting  was  done  between  the  8th  and 
10th  of  July,  whereas  the  investigations  of  1896  and  1897  show  that  the  maximum  of 
population  is  probably  not  reached  until  about  the  15th  of  the  month.  Mr.  Townsend 
himself,  in  referring  to  the  estimate  of  1895,  remarks  that  "the  rookeries  may  not 
have  (as  yet)  reached  their  breeding  height." 

ARBITRARY   REDUCTION  FOR  MASSED   AREAS. 

Another  weakness  in  this  estimate  lies  in  the  arbitrary  reduction  to  one-half  in 
obtaining  the  space  for  the  massed  rookeries.  Our  investigations  on  this  point  seem 


'Seal  and  Salmou  Fisheries,  and  General  Resources  of  Alaska,"  vol.  3. 


86  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

to  indicate  that  the  space  unit  for  massed  breeding  grounds  should  be  smaller.  But 
for  the  underestimate  which  may  therefore  be  involved  on  this  account  we  can  offer 
no  correction.  For  the  underestimate  due  to  the  early  date  at  which  the  count  was 
made  we  can  make  a  rough  estimate.  The  daily  count  on  Lukanin  rookery  for  the 
season  of  1897  shows  that  between  the  8th  and  15th  of  July  there  was  an  increase  of  15 
per  cent  in  rookery  population.  This  would  increase  the  figures  for  1895  as  originally 
given  to  about  80,000,  and  after  doubling  for  absentees  the  corrected  total  would 
be  about  160,000  breeding  females.  The  inclusion  of  the  yearlings  and  2-year-old 
females  does  not  affect  the  total,  as  they  were  not  present,  and  no  allowance  need  be 
made  for  them. 

THE  ESTIMATE  REVISED. 

This  total  of  160,000  females,  or  giving  to  each  female  a  pup  and  adding  the 
estimated  number  of  breeding  bulls,  making  325,000  "breeding  seals  and  young."  is 
probably  within  10,000  of  the  facts  for  the  season  of  1895.  That  it  comes  thus  near 
the  truth,  however,  is  the  result  of  accident  rather  tuan  good  management.  The 
corrections  which,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  experience,  we  have  been  able  to  make, 
are  vital  to  its  truth  and  change  the  results  radically.  The  original  results  could  not 
have  been  trusted  alone,  and  were  wholly  misleading. 

THE  IMPORTANT  FEATURE   OF  THE   ESTIMATE. 

The  really  important  feature  in  the  estimate  of  1895  is  the  count  of  cows  in  which 
it  originates.  This  was  a  distinct  step  in  advance,  in  that  it  approached  a  rational 
basis.  In  the  application  of  the  unit  of  space  to  the  rookeries  not  counted  the  method 
was  unfortunate.  The  area  of  breeding  ground  was  taken  from  maps  in  themselves 
imperfect,  on  which  the  rookery  outlines  were  sketched  by  the  aid  of  the  eye.  The 
rookery  boundaries,  as  we  have  shown,  are  constantly  changing  as  the  season 
advances,  ami  there  being  no  definite  landmarks  to  guide  the  observer,  it  is  impos- 
sible that  the  outlines  should  be  correctly  located.  The  enumeration  is  therefore 
carried  into  the  region  of  pure  speculation  and  has  only  the  value  of  the  individual 
judgment  of  the  person  tracing  the  maps. 

It  is  fair  to  say,  however,  that  nothing  definite  and  exact  was  claimed  for  the 
census  of  1895,  as  Mr.  True's  own  words,  in  commenting  upon  it,  will  show.  He  says: 
"I  do  not  think  that  any  estimate  can  be  made  which  will  approximate  the  truth 
more  than  remotely,"  and  he  continues  to  say  that  the  chief  use  of  such  calculations  is 
"the  elimination  of  fanciful  estimates  of  the  number  of  seals." 

MR.  CROWLEY'S  ESTIMATES  FOR  1895. 

In  leaving  the  estimates  of  1895  it  is  necessary  to  refer  to  two  other  calculations 
of  rookery  population  made  for  the  same  year  on  a  different  basis.  One  of  these  is 
by  Mr.  J.  B.  Crowley,  chief  agent  in  charge  of  these  islands.  He  finds,  as  he  says, 
by  actual  count,  a  total  of  99,936  breeding  cows  and  5,552  breeding  bulls.  When  we 
make  the  necessary  doubling  of  this  estimate  of  cows  and  add  the  pups  we  have  a 
total  of  about  305,552  "breeding  seals  and  young."  Of  the  methods  or  details  of  this 


ESTIMATES    OF    NUMBERS. 


87 


enumeration  we  know  nothing  beyond  Mr.  Crowley's  statement1  that  "the  breeding 
seal  herd  has  been  reduced  to  such  proportions  that  it  can  now  be  counted  with 
comparative  accuracy." 

COLONEL  MURRAY'S  ESTIMATE. 

The  other  calculation  is  one  given  by  Colonel  Joseph  Murray.2  He  finds  5,000 
bulls  and  200,000  cows.  Here  again  we  have  no  details  and  only  know  that  his 
method  of  enumeration  was  to  count  the  breeding  bulls  and  then  to  apply  to  each  an 
average  harem  of  40  cows.  This  average  size  of  harem  is  so  large  as  to  make  it 
unnecessary  to  double  for  the  absentee  cows.  We  have,  therefore,  simply  to  add  the 
necessary  200,000  pups  and  we  have  a  total  of  405,000  "  breeding  seals  and  young." 

DEFECTS   OF   THIS  ESTIMATE. 

That  Colonel  Murray's  count  of  bulls  is  more  than  a  rough  approximation  its 
author  has  never  claimed.  That  in  greater  part  it  is  incorrect  is  clear  from  the  fact 
that,  while  it  was  begun  about  July  18  it  was  not  completed  before  August  21.  Our 
investigations  show  that  a  count  of  harems  after  July  25  can  give  no  idea  of  actual 
conditions.  In  examining  the  count,  as  given,  moreover,  our  attention  is  attracted  to 
the  fact  that  on  Lagoon  rookery  he  finds  only  50  harems,  whereas  Mr.  True  and  Mr. 
Towusend,  counting  separately,  found  between  115  and  120  harems  in  the  same  season. 
While  having  manifestly  suffered  additional  decline,  it  still  had  in  1897  115  hareins. 
On  the  other  hand,  for  a  total  of  about  300  harems  on  Kitovi  and  Lukanin  rookeries, 
counted  by  Messrs.  True  and  Townsend,  Colonel  Murray  records  500.  These  differ- 
ences tend  to  show  that  the  latter's  count  is  made  in  round  numbers,  no  account  of 
anything  less  than  50  being  taken. 

CONTRAST  OF  ESTIMATES  FOR  1895. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  these  various  estimates  for  1895,  it  is  worth  while 
to  contrast  them  in  tabular  form : 

Estimates,  season  of  1895. 


Bulls. 

Cows. 

True  and  Townsend  

4  402 

70  423 

Mr.  Crowley  

5,552 

99  936 

Colouel  Murray  

5,000 

200  000 

It  is  not  a  gracious  task  to  call  attention  to  these  widely  variant  and  conflicting 
estimates  put  forward  by  authorized  agents  of  the  Government,  and  published  simul- 
taneously; but  as  they  have  been  used  by  the  British  Commission  to  weaken  the  force 
of  the  more  accurate  and  conclusive  statistics  of  189G,  they  must  be  shown  in  their 
true  light  as  rough  efforts  at  approximation,  not  corrected  by  other  data. 

CONTRAST   OF   ACREAGE   MEASUREMENTS. 

In  leaving  the  subject  of  acreage  measurements  it  will  serve  our  purpose,  as 
showing  the  unsatisfactory  nature  of  the  results  thus  obtained,  to  compare  for  a 


1  Sen.  Doc.  137,  Pt,  I,  p.  35. 


2  Sen.  Doc.  137,  Pt.  I,  p.  372. 


88 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


moment  the  various  estimates  that  have  been  made  on  this  basis.    They  are  as 

follows : 

Acreage  estimates  of  fur  seals,  Pribilof  Islands. 


By  whom  made. 

Area. 

.     Animals. 

Remarks. 

Bryant  (1869)  
Elliott  (1872  1874) 

Square  feet. 
'_>:{,  328,  000 
6  386  840 

1,  728,  000 
3,  193  4'>0 

Breeding  seals. 

Tinjtle  (1886). 

12  715  500 

4  768  430 

Do 

Elliott  (1890). 

1  918  786 

959  393 

Do 

True   and    Townseml 
(1895)  .    . 

2  616,063 

70  423 

and  two  year  olds. 

SUMMARY   OF   PAST   CONDITIONS. 

To  sum  up  this  discussion  of  past  conditions,  we  may  conclude  that  the  estimate 
of  18G9  by  Captain  Bryant  is  only  a  rough  approximation,  and  gives  but  little  idea  of 
the  real  condition  of  the  herd.  Mr.  Elliott's  estimate  of  1872-1874  is  scarcely  less 
unsatisfactory,  being,  as  we  now  know,  nearly  twice  too  great.  His  1890  estimate, 
through  the  arbitrary  curtailment  of  the  breeding  territory  occupied,  is  nearer  the 
truth,  but  still  far  from  it.  The  estimate  of  Mr.  Tingle  is  wholly  untrustworthy.  tThe 
estimate  of  Messrs.  True  and  Townsend  for  1895,  when  subjected  to  the  obvious 
corrections  and  additions,  which  later  observations  show  to  be  necessary,  is  very 
near  the  facts. 

A  RECONSTRUCTION   OF  EARLIER  ESTIMATES. 

In  view  of  what  has  just  been  said,  it  becomes  evident  that  the  early  estimates, 
made  shortly  after  the  herd  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States,  can  not  be 
relied  upon.  There  is  abundant  proof  that  the  estimates  are  grossly  exaggerated,  but 
data  is  wanting  to  enable  us  to  determine  the  real  facts.  Some  estimate  of  these  early 
conditions  is,  however,  necessary,  and  no  better  method  for  obtaining  it  is  available 
than  a  theoretical  reconstruction  of  the  herd  on  the  basis  of  the  present  known 
condition  of  its  breeding  seals.  To  assist  in  this  we  have  the  record  of  the  bachelor 
herd,  as  indicated  in  the  history  of  the  quota  for  the  first  twenty  years  of  American 
control. 

THE  EARLIER  AND  LATER  QUOTAS. 

From  1871  to  1889,  inclusive,  the  hauling  grounds  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  yielded 
100,000  skins  annually.  The  seals  for  the  greater  part  of  this  period  were  obtained 
before  the  20th  of  July.  It  is  the  testimony  of  those  connected  with  the  work  that 
there  were  always  killable  seals  left  at  the  close  of  the  season,  and  we  know  that  the 
rookeries  never  lacked  the  necessary  supply  of  male  life. 

During  the  present  season  a  quota  of  slightly  more  than  20,000  seals  was  obtained 
after  continuing  the  driving  until  the  10th  of  August  and  killing  closer  than  ever 
before.  In  other  words,  at  the  present  time  the  hauling  grounds  are  not  capable 
under  like  conditions  of  supplying  one-fifth  the  number  of  killable  seals  to-day  that 
they  were  able  without  difficulty  to  furnish  for  13  years  prior  to  1884. 

THE  QUOTA  DEPENDENT  UPON  THE  BREEDING  HERD. 

The  bachelor  herd  is  directly  dependent  upon  the  breeding  herd.  It  is  nominally 
taken  from  the  surviving  3-year-old  males  and  is  directly  related  to  the  birthrate  of 
three  years  prior  to  its  taking.  Three  years  ago,  or  in  1894,  therefore,  the  birthrate 


ESTIMATES    OP   NUMBERS.  89 

of  pups  was  between  one-fifth  and  one-sixth  of  what  it  was  in  the  period  from  1871 
to  1880.  The  breeding  herds  of  the  same  years  bear  the  same  relation  to  each  other. 
The  present  total  of  breeding  females  on  the  islands  is  about  130,000.  We  may  infer, 
therefore,  that  in  the  period  1871-1880  there  were  about  five  times  as  many,  or  in  the 
neighborhood  of  600,000  breeding  females. 

ESTIMATE   OF  NONBREEDINGr  SEALS. 

Of  the  bachelors  or  nonbreeding  seals  no  satisfactory  estimate  has  been  or  can  be 
made,  but  it  is  evident  from  the  data  now  available  that  about  one  half  the  seals  are 
lost  in  the  first  migration  at  sea,  while  the  number  is  still  further  reduced  to  one 
third,  possibly  to  less,  before  the  age  of  3  years  is  reached.  From  this  we  can  in  a 
rough  way  calculate  that  in  connection  with  the  quota  of  20,000  bachelors  we  have  a 
total  of  approximately  400,000  animals,  including  breeding  females,  their  young,  and 
all  other  classes.  This  is  a  ratio  of  20  to  1  between  the  entire  herd  and  the  herd  of 
killable  seals,  and  would,  when  applied  to  the  herd  of  1871-1880,  give  a  total  of 
about  2,000,000  animals  of  all  classes. 

THE   RECONSTRUCTION    STILL   ONLY  AN  ESTIMATE. 

In  putting  forward  this  reconstruction  of  past  conditions  we  are  well  aware  that 
it  is  still  only  an  estimate.  We  have,  however,  in  making  it  the  advantage  of 
definitely  known  premises  to  start  from,  and  the  results  harmonize  fully  with  the 
conditions  of  our  problem. 

COMPLETED   ESTIMATE. 

Assuming  the  figures  we  have  arrived  at,  we  find  that  they  work  out  in  harmony 
with  the  recorded  facts  of  the  quota  for  this  period.  Thus,  with  a  birthrate  of  600,000 
pups,  we  may  assume  one-half,  or  300,000,  to  survive  to  the  age  of  1  year,  and  200,000 
to  the  age  of  3  years.  One  half  of  these  were  males  and  were  killed  to  fill  the  quota. 
We  know,  of  course,  that  not  all  the  surviving  males  were  killed,  and  therefore  that 
either  the  birthrate  of  pups  was  greater  by  25,000  to  50,000  than  the  one  assumed,  or 
that  the  ratio  of  loss  was  slightly  less  than  one-half  and  one-third.  The  computation 
is  not  intended  to  be  exact,  and  can  not  be  made  so,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  show  the 
direction  in  which  the  truth  lies,  and  is  conclusive  enough  to  show  that  during  the 
time  of  the  herd's  greatest  expansion  its  breeding  females  numbered  about  600,000,  a 
figure  sufficiently  exact  for  all  practical  purposes. 

Adding  an  equal  number  of  pups  annually  and  20,000  breeding  bulls,  we  have  a 
total  of  1,400,000  "  breeding  seals  and  young,"  for  the  period  in  which  Mr.  Elliott 
estimates  3,193,420.' 

1  We  must  insist  that  the  calculations  iu  the  preceding  paragraphs  are  intended  merely  as  rough 
approximations  to  show  the  early  condition  of  the  herd.  Such  discrepancies  as  exist  between  these 
figures  and  those  tentatively  put  forth  in  our  Preliminary  Report  for  1896  are  the  result  of  more 
mature  deliberation.  The  attempt  of  the  British  Colonial  Office  (see  letter  of  Mr.  Wingfield  to 
Foreign  Office,  Corr.  on  Seal  Fisheries,  Brit.  Blue  Book,  No.  4,  September,  1897,  p.  121)  to  make  capita, 
out  of  them  is  wholly  unwarranted.  The  statements  both  here  and  in  the  former  report  are  couched 
in  sufficiently  guarded  language  to  leave  no  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the  candid  reader.  We  merely 
wish  to  show  that  since  the  herd  formerly  yielded  100,000  skins  annually  and  now  yields  but  20,000, 
it  must  once  have  been  approximately  five  times  as  large  as  now.  On  the  other  hand  we  infer  that  it 
could  not  under  the  circumstances  have  been  seven  or  ten  times  as  large.  These  figures  represent  a: 
attempt,  more  or  less  imperfect,  owing  to  the  complexity  of  the  problem,  to  give  concrete  expressioi 
to  this  undeniable  fact. 


90  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

B.  THE  PRESENT  CONDITION  OF  THE  HERD. 
THE   CENSUS. 

In  the  work  of  the  present  investigation  of  the  fur-seal  herd  the  most  important 
consideration  was  the  making  of  as  accurate  an  enumeration  as  possible  of  the  number 
of  animals.  This  has  always  formed  an  important  part  of  every  investigation  in 
the  past.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  results  have  been  anything  but  satisfactory.  The 
great  multitude  of  the  animals,  when  the  herd  was  five  times  as  great  as  at  present, 
may  have  left  no  other  result  possible.  At  the  present  time,  even  with  the  herd  so 
greatly  reduced,  the  task  of  making  a  complete  census  of  all  the  rookeries  is  by  no 
means  an  easy  one,  as  the  details  of  our  work,  which  will  be  found  in  the  Daily 
Journal,  will  indicate. 

ITS  DIFFICULTY. 

Without  going  into  detail  here,  we  may  mention  among  the  difficulties  of  the 
problem  the  fringe  of  idle  bulls,  savage  and  immovable,  that  skirts  each  rookery,  the 
danger  of  stampeding  the  rookeries  themselves,  the  broken  and  irregular  nature  of 
the  ground,  and,  finally,  the  constantly  shifting  nature  of  the  rookery  population. 
These  are  some  of  the  merely  mechanical  difficulties.  But  more  serious  for  us  than 
any  of  these  was  the  fact  that  at  the  outset  the  conditions  of  the  problem  before  us 
were  not  at  all  understood.  It  had  been  currently  accepted  that  during  a  period 
between  the  10th  and  20th  of  July  the  breeding  rookeries  were  at  their  height  and 
practically  all  the  animals  present.  Upon  this  supposition  all  previous  estimates  had 
been  based.  With  this  idea  in  mind  we  began  our  work,  only  to  find  as  we  advanced 
that  the  supposition  was  unfounded. 

For  the  smaller  rookeries  of  St.  George,  and  such  rookeries  as  Kitovi,  Lagoon, 
Zapadni  Keef,  and  the  clitf  portions  of  Polovina  and  Tolstoi,  it  was  found  possible  to 
make  a  count  of  the  individual  animals  by  harems.  This  was  accordingly  done.  On 
the  greater  rookeries,  as  those  of  Northeast  Point,  Reef,  and  Zapadni,  no  count  of 
individuals  was  possible,  and  for  these  rookeries  only  harems  were  enumerated. 

ACTUAL   COUNTS. 

Our  count  of  individual  cows  in  1896  covered  about  one-fifth  of  the  rookery  space 
on  St.  Paul  Island,  embracing  1,245  harems,  with  a  total  population  of  16,079  cows, 
or  an  average  of  13.4  cows  to  each  harem  at  the  height  of  the  season.  The  average 
harem  of  the  individual  rookeries  and  parts  of  rookeries  counted  ranged  from  11  in 
the  lowest  to  17.3  in  the  highest.  The  lower  averages  represented  thin  and  scattered 
portions  of  rocky  breeding  ground,  and  none  of  the  counted  area  contained  any  of 
the  massed  conditions  characteristic  of  portions  of  the  larger  rookeries.  The  highest 
average  belonged  to  Kitovi  rookery,  the  largest  continuous  rookery  space  counted. 
It  contained  3,152  cows  in  182  harems,  an  average  of  17.3  cows  to  the  harem.  The 
conditions  of  this  rookery  as  a  whole  being  more  typical  of  the  general  conditions 
prevailing  on  the  larger  rookeries,  its  average  was  taken  as  a  basis  for  computing  the 
population  of  those  rookeries  on  which  only  harems  could  be  counted.  The  appropri- 
ateness of  this  average  was  the  more  apparent  as  on  North  rookery  of  St.  George 
the  129  harems  accurately  counted  gave  an  average  of  17  cows  to  the  harem. 


CENSUS    OF    ROOKERIES    IN    1896. 


91 


KITOVI  ROOKERY   TAKEN   AS   TYPICAL. 

Applying  then  the  average  of  Kitovi  to  the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  on  which  indi- 
vidual counts  could  not  be  made,  we  obtained  the  following  tentative  census  for  this 

island : 

Census  of  harems  and  cotes,  St.  Paul. 


Kookery. 

Date  of 
count. 

Harems. 

Cows. 

July  13 

182 

3,152 

Juiv   20 

147 

2,543 

JulV   13 

120 

1,474 

July   14 

389 

6,  729 

Tolstoi  (cliffs)  a    

108 

1,498 

583 

10,  085 

July   14 

210 

2,400 

July  14 

176 

2,256 

July   16 

302 

5,224 

July  16 

27 

550 

Reef    

July  16 

504 

8,710 

Sivutcli  Kock        

Aug.  12 

63 

1,090 

Polovina  (main*    

July  23 

138 

2,387 

Polovina  (cliffs)  a  

July  15 

86 

1,268 

Polovina  (Little)  

July  23 

45 

779 

Vostochnifr  

July   16 

975 

15,  879 

Morjovi  b  

July   16 

293 

4,328 

Total  

4,348 

70,  361 

a  Cows  and  harems  counted. 

b  Cows  and  harems  counted  in  part  only.    All  other  rookeries  were  counted  only  by  harems. 

ORIGINAL   COUNTS   OF   ST.    GEORGE   UNSATISFACTORY. 

The  rookeries  of  St.  George  had  been  counted  on  the  8th,  9th,  and  llth  of  July 
before  the  counts  on  St.  Paul  were  made.  Later  experiences  led  us  to  doubt  the 
trustworthiness  of  these  earlier  counts,  and,  furthermore,  the  condition  of  the  rookeries 
of  St.  Paul  being  different  from  that  witnessed  on  St.  George,  it  seemed  likely  that 
at  the  time  of  our  first  landing  on  tlie  latter  island,  the  season  had  not  yet  reached 
its  height. 

This  view  was  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  while  the  original  count  gave  to  St. 
George  only  one  tenth  as  many  seals  as  were  found  on  St.  Paul,  the  former  island  had 
furnished  more  than  one-fifth  of  the  quota  of  killable  seals.  In  the  latter  part  of  July 
we  made  a  more  careful  count  of  bulls  on  Zapadni  and  North  rookeries,  which  gave 
a  much  higher  number  of  families  than  were  shown  on  the  original  estimates.  Finally, 
when  live  pups  were  counted  on  Little  East  Kookery,  they  were  found  to  exceed  the 
cows  counted  on  the  9th  of  July  by  4  to  1. 

ESTIMATE   FOR   ST.   GEORGE. 

Having  these  matters  in  mind,  in  preparing  the  estimate  for  St.  George  Island 
last  season,  a  compromise  was  reached  in  which  all  these  elements  had  a  share.  This 
estimate  was  as  follows: 

Census  of  cows  and  harems,  St.  George. 


Rookery. 

Harems. 

Cows. 

If  orth          

225 

3,891 

Little  East                                           

44 

761 

East                                              -  - 

135 

2,335 

75 

1,297 

182 

3,148 

Total                 

661 

11,432 

92 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


THIS  ESTIMATE   ALSO   UNSATISFACTORY. 

In  the  light  of  our  experience  of  the  present  season,  however,  this  estimate  for 
St.  George  still  proves  unsatisfactory.  It  was  found  that  in  the  first  hasty  view  of 
Little  East  rookery  on  July  9, 1896,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  breeding  ground  was 
hidden  from  view  by  the  clift's,  because  the  most  advantageous  observation  point  was 
not  selected.  The  proportion  of  killable  seals  furnished  by  St.  George  in  1890  proved 
wholly  misleading  because  in  1897  the  island  furnished  only  one-ninth  of  the  quota. 
The  observations  of  the  present  season  also  show  that  a  count  of  harems  after  the 
25th  of  July  gives  no  idea  of  the  real  condition  of  the  rookeries  at  the  height  of  the 
season.  On  rookery  ground  under  inspection  during  1897  for  this  'purpose  it  was 
found  that  between  the  13th  and  25th  of  July,  while  the  number  of  cows  diminished 
one-third  the  number  of  families  had  been  increased  one-seventh  through  the  ingress 
of  young  and  idle  bulls  following  the  breaking  up  of  the  harem  system. 

But  this  information  was  not  at  hand  when  the  census  of  1896  was  prepared  on 
August  1,  and  the  estimate  seemed  to  represent  as  nearly  as  possible  the  actual 
condition  of  the  breeding  herd  at  the  time  known  as  the  height  of  the  season. 

THE  GREAT  EXCESS  OF  PUPS. 

As  our  observations  on  St.  Paul  continued,  and  especially  when  we  came  to  enter 
the  rookeries  to  count  the  dead  pups,  our  attention  was  attracted  to  the  fact  that  the 
pups  seemed  to  be  much  more  numerous  than  the  estimates  of  cows  in  the  height  of 
the  season  would  warrant.  This  was  particularly  noticeable  on  the  sand  flat  of 
Tolstoi. 

To  test  the  matter  a  careful  count  of  the  live  pups  on  Kitovi  rookery  was  made  on 
August  15.  This  rookery  had  been  taken  as  the  typical  one  in  making  up  the  census 
and  the  most  accurate  count  of  cows  was  made  upon  it.  A  total  of  5,940  live  pups 
were  found.  To  this  number  109  dead  pups  counted  a  week  before  were  to  be  added? 
making  a  total  of  6,049  pups  for  a  rookery  where  3,152  cows  had  been  counted  on  the 
13th  of  July  at  the  supposed  maximum  of  its  expansion. 

COUNT  OF  PUPS. 

The  counting  of  live  pups  was  continued  on  all  parts  of  rookeries  where  cows 
had  originally  been  counted.  In  some  cases  the  counts  could  not  be  made  accurately 
because  the  pups  were  beginning  to  swim  well  and  took  to  the  water.  Where  the 
counts  were  most  satisfactory  the  proportion  of  live  pups  to  cows  was  about  1.90  to  1. 
The  proportion  on  Kitovi  was  1.91,  and  here  the  count  was  made  under  favorable 
conditions  because  a  heavy  surf  kept  the  pups  from  going  to  sea.  Where  the  lowest 
percentages  were  found  the  least  accurate  counts  had  been  made. 

The  following  is  a  detailed  statement  of  the  count  of  live  pups: 

Count  of  live  pups,  1S9G,  St.  Paul  Island. 


Rookery. 

Cows. 

Pups. 

Kitovi       

3,  152 

6,049 

Tolstoi  (clitt's)          

1,498 

2,664 

/upailni  Keef  

2,256 

3,862 

Lagoon  .  .               ....          

1,474 

2,484 

1'olovina  (cliti'n)       

1,268 

2,496 

Vostorhni  (part)                          

2,887 

4,412 

1,  194 

2.289 

Total  

13,  729 

24,  256 

CENSUS    OF    ROOKERIES    IN    1896. 


93 


CORRECTION   FOR   ABSENT   COWS. 

Averaging  the  various  counts  it  seemed  that  the  proportion  of  live  pups  to  the 
apparent  number  of  cows  present  in  the  breeding  season  was  1.75.  Our  experience 
during  the  season  of  1897  shows  that  this  was  too  low,  and  that  it  would  have  been 
better  had  the  simple  conditions  of  Kitovi  rookery  been  taken  as  typical  of  the  other 
rookeries,  using  its  proportion  of  1.91  to  1. 

On  the  basis  of  our  count  of  live  pups  the  previous  census  was  corrected  by  the 
addition  of  75  per  cent  to  allow  for  absent  cows  in  the  height  of  the  season.  In  this 
way  the  completed  preliminary  census  put  forward  in  1898  was  made.  It  is  as  follows : 

Summary  of  breeding  seals  (counts  and  estimates)  1896. 


Rookery. 

Harems. 

Cows 
(count). 

Actual 
total. 

ST.  PAUL. 

182 

3,  152 

6,  049 

147 

2,543 

4,450 

120 

1,474 

2,484 

389 

6.  729 

11,775 

Tolstoi  (cliffs)         

108 

1,498 

2,664 

583 

10,  085 

17  648 

210 

2,400 

4,200 

176 

2  25G 

3  862 

302 

5.224 

9,142 

27 

550 

652 

Reef    

504 

8.719 

15,  258 

63 

1,090 

1,907 

138 

2,387 

4,177 

86 

1,268 

2,496 

Polovina.  (little)                           

45 

779 

1,363 

975 

15,  879 

27,  148 

293 

4,328 

7.773 

Total           -.. 

4,348 

70,  361 

123,  048 

ST.  OEOEGE. 

Xorth           

225 

3,891 

6,809 

44 

761 

1,350 

East                     

135 

2,335 

4,086 

182 

3,148 

5,509 

75 

1,297 

2,269 

Total    

661 

11,432 

20,  023 

Grand  total  

5,009 

81,793 

143,071 

Bobrovi  (Otter  Island)  had  1  harem,  containing  5  cows  and  5  pups. 
REVISION  OF  CENSUS  OF  1896. 

As  already  intimated,  the  estimate  for  St.  George  Island  for  1896  is  not  satisfactory. 
That  Little  East  rookery  was  considerably  underestimated  is  evident  from  a  closer 
inspection  of  this  breeding  ground  during  the  season  of  1897.  The  original  count 
gave  only  27  harems,  but  probably  included  no  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  rookery. 
As  there  were  but  few  idle  bulls  about  this  rookery,  the  count  of  bulls  made  late  in 
July  can  not  be  far  out  of  the  way  here,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  better  estimate  it 
may  be  allowed  to  stand. 

CORRECTIONS   ON   ST.   GEORGE. 

On  Zapadni  and  North  rookeries,  however,  the  number  of  harems  counted  in  the 
latter  part  of  July  can  not  be  accurate.  When  the  rigid  harem  system  breaks  up  and 
the  original  harem  masters  begin  to  leave,  the  idle  bulls  (of  which  there  were  many 
about  these  rookeries)  enter  the  breeding  grounds,  increasing  the  number  of  families, 


94  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIB1LOF    ISLANDS. 

though  the  actual  population  has  been  diminished  by  the  more  frequent  and  pro- 
longed absence  of  the  cows.  The  number  of  bulls  therefore  found  for  those  two 
rookeries  on  July  31  can  not  be  accepted  as  representing  the  number  of  families  in  the 
breeding  season  and  must  be  reduced. 

CORRECTIONS   ON   ST.   PAUL. 

The  need  for  revision  in  the  census  of  St.  Paul  Island  is  not  so  great;  but  our 
experience  during  the  past  season  shows  that  in  all  probability  the  harems  on  Zapadni 
and  Tolstoi  rookeries  were  slightly  overestimated  and  those  on  the  main  part  of 
Polovina  underestimated. 

Zapadni  rookery  occupies  a  long  gradual  slope  back  of  the  more  abrupt  bowlder 
beach.  This  slope  was  filled  with  savage  bulls,  making  close  approach  in  1896  impos- 
sible. The  count  of  harems  was  made  from  a  boat  offshore  and  was  not  corrected  by 
a  count  from  behind.  From  this  point  of  view  of  the  water  the  whole  field  could  not 
be  inspected,  and  the  figures  of  last  year  were  felt  to  be  merely  a  rough  approximation. 
The  estimate  for  those  not  clearly  seen  was  certainly  too  large.  This  year  the  rookery 
had  shrunk  so  largely  that  observation  points  from  the  rear,  commanding  the  entire 
breeding  ground,  could  be  reached.  In  like  manner  the  estimate  of  Tolstoi  for  1896 
was  made  under  difficulties,  which  were  more  satisfactorily  overcome  in  1897. 

On  Polovina  the  conditions  were  similar  to  those  on  Zapadni.  The  main  part  of 
the  rookery  lies  on  a  gradual  even  slope,  behind  which  the  idle  bulls  were  collected  in 
such  numbers  as  to  prevent  near  approach,  while  there  was  no  opportunity  to  inspect 
the  rookery  from  the  water.  This  year  the  conditions  were  so  changed  as  to  permit 
of  much  closer  inspection,  and  although  the  mass  of  breeding  seals  had  plainly 
shrunk  at  every  point,  practically  the  same  number  of  harems  were  counted,  making 
an  addition  of  harems  necessary. 

SIVUTCH  ROCK. 

A  third  correction  must  be  made  in  the  estimate  of  Sivutch  Eock.  The  original 
estimate  of  this  rookery  was  made  after  an  inspection  of  the  rock  with  a  field  glass 
from  the  plateau  of  the  Reef,  which  showed  27  bulls  in  charge  of  harems  on  the 
northern  face.  At  the  time  of  the  count  of  dead  pups  in  August  a  landing  was 
effected  and  an  attempt  made  to  estimate  the  number  of  harems,  as  the  rookery 
seemed  plainly  greater  than  our  original  estimate  allowed  for.  Sixty-seven  bulls 
occupying  harems  were  then  found,  though  it  was  plain  that  the  rookery  was  wholly 
disorganized.  This  season  Sivutch  Rock  was  inspected  from  all  sides  in  a  boat  at 
the  height  of  the  season  and  an  adequate  notion  of  the  extent  of  the  rookery  obtained. 
Harems  were  found  on  the  southern  side  and  in  places  where  their  presence  was  not 
suspected  in  1896.  The  total  number  counted  in  1897  was  102.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  to  largely  increase  the  original  estimate  for  this  rookery. 

In  balancing  these  under  and  over  estimates,  however,  they  practically  neutralize 
each  other  and  leave  the  total  for  St.  Paul  for  1896  about  what  it  was.  For  St.  George 
Island  also  the  difference  resulting  from  the  revision  is  not  great,  being  only  about  600 
cows. 

THE  IMPORTANT  CORRECTION  IN  THE  CENSUS  OF  1896. 

But  the  chief  error  in  the  census  of  1896,  and  this  applies  to  both  islands,  lies  in 
the  percentage  of  correction  to  be  added  for  absent  cows.  This  has  already  been 


REVISED    CENSUS    OF    189«i. 


95 


referred  to.  Instead  of  tbe  average  correction  of  75  per  cent,  one  of  100  per  cent 
would  have  been  more  nearly  correct.  However,  since  in  tbe  original  census  of  1890 
and  in  the  census  of  1897  Kitovi  rookery  has  been  taken  as  typical  of  the  rookeries  as 
a  whole,  we  may  use  its  percentage  of  correction,  91,  in  the  revision.  After  making 
this  correction  and  such  alterations  in  the  estimates  of  harems  as  experience  shows  to 
be  advisable,  we  have  the  following  revised  and  completed  census  for  the  season  of 
1896: 

Eeviaed  census,  1896. 
ST.  PAUL. 


Rookery. 

Harems. 

Pups 
(cows). 

Kitovi                                                            

182 

6  049 

120 

2,484 

86 

2  496 

176 

3  862 

147 

4,880 

Tolstoi'                                  

467 

15  504 

543 

18  027 

210 

4  584 

302 

10,  026 

27 

»896 

Reef                                      

504 

16,  732 

Sivutcli  4         '        

105 

3,486 

153 

5,079 

Little  Polo  vina     

45 

1,494 

975 

32,  370 

293 

9,  727 

Total                          •  

4,335 

137  696 

ST.  GEORGE. 


North  8                                ....        

200 

6  640 

Little  East                                             

44 

1  350 

East.       ..        

135 

4,482 

143 

4,747 

75 

2,490 

Total       .          

597 

19  709 

RECAPITULATION. 


St  Paul                                       

4,335 

137,  696 

597 

19,  709 

4,932 

157,  405 

1  A  reduction  of  30  harems  from  the  original  estimate. 

2  A  reduction  of  40  harems. 

3  The  original  count  of  650  pups  used  in  the  census  ^of  1896  was  made  from  the  cliffs  above  the  rookery  under 
circumstances  which  make  it  certain  that  it  is  au  underestimate     It  is  therefore  discarded. 

4  An  increase  of  42  harems. 
6  An  increase  of  15  harems. 

6  A  decrease  of  25  harems. 

7  A  decrease  of  39  harems. 

THE  VALUE  OF  THIS  CENSUS. 

This  elaborated  and  corrected  census  of  1896  gives  our  best  possible  judgment  as 
to  the  conditions  on  the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  during  the  season  of 
1890.  The  revision  and  alteration  which  have  been  found  necessary  make  the  estimate 
more  or  less  unsatisfactory.  But  no  other  result  could  be  expected.  The  census  was 
a  growth  and  an  experiment  from  the  start.  The  conditions  under  which  it  ought  to 
have  been  made  were  not  understood  until  the  time  was  passed.  Notwithstanding 


96 


THE    FUR    SEALS   OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


all  this  the  total  results  as  here  given  are  close  eiiough  to  the  actual  conditions  for  all 
practical  purposes.  The  total  of  157,405  breeding  seals  means  between  150,000  and 
100,000.  No  closer  accuracy  is  claimed  for  the  figures,  and  none  is  needed.  The  margin 
of  error  can  not  be  greater  than  this. 

THE  CENSUS  OF  1897. 

In  making  the  census  of  1897  no  such  difficulty  as  that  encountered  in  1896  was 
met  with.  From  the  start  we  had  a  clear  idea  of  the  problem  and  were  guided  by  the 
experience  obtained  in  the  work  of  the  former  season.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  make  a  full  enumeration  of  the  breeding  harems  on  all  the  rookeries  at  the  height 
of  the  season.  The  remaining  step  was  to  obtain  an  average  size  of  harem  by  making 
a  count  of  live  pups  on  some  typical  rookery  space.  Accordingly  between  the  period 
of  July  13  and  20  the  count  of  harems  was  made.  For  purposes  of  comparison  the 
cows  actually  present  on  rookeries  counted  last  year  were  recounted  this  year  on 
the  same  dates. 

THE  COUNT  OF  PUPS  IN  1897. 

The  count  of  pups  was  made  between  the  28th  of  July  and  the  3d  of  August. 
A  comparison  of  the  number  of  pups  with  the  number  of  cows  counted  showed  clearly 
the  inadequacy  of  our  correction  of  75  per  cent  for  absent  cows  in  the  original  census 
of  1896.  These  counts  of  cows  and  pups  for  1897  are  as  follows : 

Comparison  of  counts  of  cows  and  pups,  1897. 


Rookery. 

Cows 
present. 

Pups. 

Kitovi                             

2  436 

5  289 

Lagoon       

1,319 

2,  598 

/ii  put  1  n  i  Keef  

1,049 

3,041 

747 

2,  200 

470 

736 

Little  East  

497 

1,190 

Total  

6,518 

15,  054 

THE  PROPORTION  OF  COWS  TO  PUPS. 

These  counts  seem  to  show  that  the  cows  belonging  to  any  rookery  for  the  season 
are  about  2.61  times  as  numerous  as  the  cows  found  present  at  any  one  time  in  the 
height  of  the  season.  But  an  examination  of  the  figures  for  Zapadni  Keef  and  for 
Polovina  cliffs  indicates  an  abnormal  condition  of  things  on  these  rookeries.  In  both 
cases  the  pups  outnumber  the  cows  nearly  three  to  one.  It  would  seem  likely  that 
the  weather  or  some  other  cause  had  on  these  rookeries  produced  an  unusual  effect 
for  the  day  when  the  counts  were  made. 

In  view  of  this  apparently  abnormal  condition  in  part  of  the  rookeries  counted, 
it  has  been  thought  best  in  the  census  of  1897  to  waive  the  general  average  results 
and  take  the  simple  conditions  of  Kitovi  rookery  as  again  typical.  We  find  from  a 
comparison  of  this  rookery  for  the  two  seasons  that  its  condition  is  apparently 
normal.  In  1896  there  were  182  harems,  3,152  cows  present  on  July  13,  in  the 
height  of  the  season,  and  6,049  pups  in  August;  in  1897  there  were  179  harems,  2,436 
cows  actually  present  on  the  same  date,  and  5,289  pups  in  August. 


CENSUS    OF    ROOKERIES,   1897. 


97 


THE   AVERAGE   HAREM   OF  KITOVI. 

Dividing  this  total  of  5,289  by  179,  the  number  of  harems,  we  find  the  average 
luireni  of  Kitovi  rookery  to  contain  19.5  cows.  This  harem  is  applied  to  all  the 
rookeries  on  which  only  counts  of  harems  were  made.  Where  pups  were  counted,  the 
figures  so  obtained  are  used  without  change.  The  only  difference  in  the  method  of 
computing  the  census  of  1897  from  that  of  1896  is  in  the  dropping  out  of  the 
intermediate  step  of  completing  the  provisional  census  of  cows  and  afterwards 
adding  the  necessary  correction  for  absentees.  This  step,  now  that  the  conditions 
are  known,  becomes  superfluous.  Constructed  on  this  basis  the  following  is  the 
completed  census  of  breeding  seals  for  the  two  islands  for  the  season  of  1897 : 

Census,  1897. 
ST.  PAUL. 


Kookery. 


Hareins. 


Pups 

(cows). 


Kitori 179  5, 289 

Lagoon 115  2,598 

Poloviiia  (cliffs) 61     i          2,200 

Zapadni  Reef 114  3,041 

Lukanin 139  4, 100 

Tolstoi 393  11, 593 

Zapadni 458  13, 511 

Little  Zapadni 176  5, 192 

Gorbatch 308  9,086 

Ardiguen 33  736 

Reef 454  13,393 

Sivutch 102  3,009 

Polovina 143  4,218 

Little  Polovina 40    !          1,180 

Vostochni 910    :        26,845 

Morjovi I  233    !          6,873 

Total 3,858  112,864 

ST.  GEORGE. 

North 196  5,782 

Little  East 46  1,190 

East 128  3,776 

Zapadui '  133  3,923 

Starie  Artel 57  1,681 

Total..... 560  16,352 

RECAPITULATION. 

St.  Paul ;i,  85«  112,864 

St.  George 560  16,352 

Total 4,418  129,210 


THE  VALUE  OF  THE  CENSUS  FOR  1807. 

Whatever  doubt  or  uncertainty  may  exist  regarding  the  census  of  1896  there  is 

none  with  regard  to  that  for  1897.    No  estimates  were  made.    The  count  of  harems 

was  complete  for  every  rookery.    The  count  of  pups  was  carefully  and  accurately 

made.     While  not  claiming  infallibility  for  these  figures,  the  margin  of  error  is  slight. 

15184 7 


98  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

From  this  census  we  have  therefore  a  total  of  4,418  breeding  bulls  and  129,216 
breeding  cows  for  the  season  of  1897.  Each  of  these  cows  bore  a  pup  during  the 
season.  There  were  therefore  a  total  of  262,850  "breeding  seals  and  young"  at  one 
time  or  another  on  the  rookeries  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  during  the  past  season. 

Thus  far  our  census  of  the  fur  seals  'can  lay  claim  to  accuracy,  but  it  does  not 
cover  all  classes  of  animals,  and  when  we  attempt  to  extend  it  beyond  the  breeding 
herd  to  include  idle  bulls,  bachelors,  and  yearling  and  2-year-old  females,  we  must 
leave  facts  and  begin  to  theorize. 

THE  ENUMERATION  OF  NONBREEDINd  SEALS. 

During  the  season  of  18  6  a  rough  approximation  was  made  of  the  class  of  males 
known  as  idle  bulls.  The  number  found  in  close  proximity  to  the  breeding  grounds 
was  estimated  at  about  3,000.  .No  attempt  was  made  to  include  animals  located  on 
various  sand  beaches  and  such  hauling  grounds  as  those  of  Sivutch  Rock,  Zapadni 
Head,  Lagoon,  etc.  The  enumeration  of  this  class  of  bulls  was  therefore  only  partial 
at  best.  On  certain  rookeries  where  they  were  counted  last  year,  counts  were  made 
this  year  for  comparison,  "but  beyond  this  nothing  was  done  or  could  be  done.  Only  a 
general  estimate  of  idle  bulls  can  therefore  be  given,  but  the  number  would  seem  to 
be  not  far  from  5,000,  or  in  round  numbers,  a  number  equal  to  those  occupied. 

IDLE   AND   HALF  HTLLS. 

In  addition  to  these  idle  bulls  the  hauling  grounds  and  the  water  front  were  full 
of  young  half  bulls,  5  and  6  years  of  age,  which  had  not  yet  even  attempted  to  secure 
places  on  the  rookeries.  From  the  killing  grounds  during  the  present  season  8,000  of 
these  animals  were  turned  back  from  the  drives.  As  some  of  the  young  bulls  may 
have  been  driven  two,  three,  and  even  four  times  from  the  same  hauling  ground,  this 
number  can  not  be  taken  at  its  face  value.  But  in  corners  of  many  of  the  hauling 
grounds,  in  the  runways  on  the  Reef  and  in  the  various  ravines  on  Zapadni,  large 
numbers  of  these  animals  were  not  disturbed  at  all,  while  the  water  front  of  all  the 
rookeries  was  lined  with  them.  A  fair  estimate  of  the  young  bulls  would  not  fall 
far  short  of  10,000.  This  class  represents  chieny  the  natural  reserve  which  has 
accumulated  from  the  escape  of  the  animals  of  killable  age  since  1893.  The  idle  bulls 
as  a  class  arid  the  oldest  of  the  half  bulls  are  the  aftermath  of  the  modus  vivendi. 

THE    BACHELORS. 

But  these  animals  are  not  numerous  and  their  record  is  not  important.  It  is 
concerning  the  bachelors  below  killable  age  and  the  cows  below  breeding  age  that  we 
ought  to  have  exact  information,  but  can  not  get  it.  It  is  impossible  to  count  the 
yearling  and  2-year-old  bachelors.  They  do  not  arrive  at  the  islands  until  late  in 
the  season.  They  occupy  their  hauling  grounds  very  irregularly,  coming  and  going 
from  the  water  according  to  pleasure  and  the  state  of  the  weather. 

REJECTED    SEALS. 

From  the  killing  grounds  during  the  present  season  15,000  animals  too  small  to 
kill  were  turned  back.  As  in  case  of  the  young  bulls,  some  of  these,  perhaps  many, 
were  driven  and  redriven;  several  drives  being  made  from  each  hauling  ground 


ESTIMATE    OF    YOUNG    FUR    SEALS.  99 

during  the  season.  The  actual  number  represented  by  this  total  of  rejected  animals 
can  not  be  exactly  determined.  From  this  it  would  seem  necessary  to  suppose  that 
by  no  means  all  the  younger  seals  appear  on  the  hauling  grounds  during  the  killing 
season.  In  fact  the  records  of  the  drives  show  that  it  is  only  after  the  middle  of 
July  that  the  yearlings  begin  to  arrive  in  numbers.  The  older  bachelors  appear 
earliest,  and  by  the  time  the  killing  season  is  over  the  great  majority  of  the  killable 
seals  are  secured,  leaving  the  population  of  the  hauling  grounds  almost  exclusively 
yearlings  and  2-year-olds. 

THE  1  AND  2- YEAR-OLD  FEMALES. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  1  and  2-year-old  bachelors  applies  equally  well  to 
the  same  class  of  females.  These  do  not  appear  on  the  islands  before  the  1st  of 
August.  The  2-year-olds  come  on  the  breeding  grounds  and  are  scattered  about 
among  the  harems,  spending  a  few  days  and  leaving.  They  come  and  go  at  intervals 
during  the  rest  of  the  season,  playing  among  the  pups  in  company  with  their  yearling 
sisters.  It  will  never  be  possible  to  enumerate  these  younger  classes  of  seals. 

THE   LOSSES   AMONG   YOUNG   SEALS. 

One  element  of  uncertainty  regarding  all  the  younger  classes  of  seals  lies  in  the 
absence  of  any  definite  information  regarding  the  losses  they  sustain  at  sea  during 
their  early  migrations.  We  know  that  such  loss  must  be  great,  but  that  is  all.  From 
all  the  data  at  hand  it  seems  certain  that  not  more  than  one-third  of  the  pups  born  in 
any  particular  year  survive  to  killable  or  breeding  age.  This  percentage  must  have 
been  still  smaller  in  the  earlier  days,  when  the  herd  was  more  crowded  and  occupied 
to  greater  extent  the  sandy  areas.  Doubtless,  when  the  herd  was  at  its  maximum,  in 
the  seventies,  not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  pups  reached  the  age  of  3  years. 

It  is  fortunate  that  no  vital  importance  attaches  to  the  exact  number  of  these 
younger  animals.  The  important  matter  is  the  number  of  breeding  animals,  and  this 
we  have.  But  it  is  worth  while  to  construct  an  estimate  of  the  younger  classes,  if 
such  a  thing  can  be  done,  and  in  the  quota  of  the  year  1897  we  have  a  basis  for  fairly 
satisfactory  results. 

THE   ESTIMATE   OF  NONBKEEDING   SEALS. 

During  this  season  a  quota  in  round  numbers  of  20,000  skins  was  taken  on  the 
'Pribilof  Islands.  This  number  included  some  2-year-olds  and  some  4-year-olds,  but  as  a 
rule  the  animals  taken  were  3-year-olds.  Some  3-year-olds  were  left  over,  and  some  that 
would  have  been  3-year-olds  in  1897  had  been  killed  as  2-year-olds  in  1896.  We  might 
even  the  matter  up  and  say  that  the  quota  practically  represented  the  normal  quota 
of  animals  of  3  years  old.  But  as  there  are  elements  of  uncertainty  in  the  problem,  to 
be  on  the  safe  side  and  for  the  purposes  of  argument,  we  may  suppose  that  there  was 
a  maximum  of  25,000  3-year-old  males  which  did  or  should  have  survived  in  1897  from 
the  birth  rate  of  1894.  An  equal  number  of  females  survived  from  the  same  year. 
These  young  breeders,  which  came  upon  the  rookeries  to  bear  their  first  pups  in  1897, 
have  already  been  included  in  the  estimate  of  breeding  cows. 

As  nearly  as  we  can  judge,  the  total  birth  rate  for  the  year  1894  was  approximately 
200,000.  Of  these,  under  normal  conditions,  about  one-third,  or  something  like  65,000, 


100  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

should  have  survived.  The  difference  between  this  number  aud  the  50,000  which  we 
have  found  to  actually  survive  is  accounted  for  by  the  starvation  of  pups  in  1894. 

Treating  in  the  same  manner  the  approximate  birth  rate  of  170,000  pups  in  1895, 
we  find  that,  after  making  the  deductions  for  loss  through  natural  causes  and  from 
starvation,  probably  40,000  returned  as  2-year-olds  in  1897. 

Of  the  160,000  pups  born  last  year  treated  in  like  manner,  probably  60,000 
appeared  in  1897  as  yearlings. 

THE   COMPLETE   ESTIMATE  FOR  ANIMALS   OF   ALL   CLASSES. 

This  completes  our  estimate  of  the  younger  classes  of  seals.  The  figures  are 
merely  rough  approximations  and  are  to  be  considered  as  such.  They,  however, 
point  in  the  direction  of  the  truth  and  are  probably  not  far  from  it.  Putting  these 
various  estimates  in  tabular  form  we  have  the  following  completed  estimate  of  all 
classes  of  animals  on  the  rookeries  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  for  the  season  of  1897 : 

Animals  present  at  one  time  or  another,  season  of  1897. 

Breeding  females 129, 216 

Pups  born 129,216 

Active  bulls 4,418 

Idle  bulls  (approximate) 5,  000 

Half  bulls  (approximate) 10, 000 

Three-year-old  males  (approximate) 25. 000 

Two-year-olds  of  both  sexes  (approximate) 40, 000 

Yearlings  of  both  sexes  (approximate) 60,  000 

Total '. 402,850 

Iii  round  numbers,  therefore,  there  were  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  at  one  time  or 
another  during  the  season  of  1897  400,000  seals  of  all  classes.  We  wish  to  again 
emphasize  the  fact  that  these  figures,  in  so  far  as  they  refer  to  other  classes  of  animals 
than  the  breeding  seals  aud  young,  are  mere  approximations. 

DEDUCTIONS  FOR  LOSSES. 

These  animals  were  of  course  not  all  alive  at  the  close  of  the  season.  Their 
number  had  been  reduced  from  various  causes,  as  the  death  of  nursing  pups,  pelagic 
sealing,  and  the  filling  of  the  quota.  These  losses  to  the  herd  may  be  estimated  as 
follows : 

Animals  known  to  hare  died  from  various  causes,  season  1897. 

Pups,  from  Uncinar ia,  trampl  ing,  etc esti  mated . .  7,  750 

Pups,  from  starvation do 14,  <)<M) 

Bachelors  (quota) ; 20,890 

Pelagic  catch  (Bering  Sea) 16, 464 

Total  ..  59,104 


Total  alive  during  season 402,  850 

Total  dead 59,104 


Total  alive  October  15,  1897 343,746 


THE  COUNT  OF  PUPS.  101 

THE  VALUE  OF  THE  ESTIMATE. 

The  weakness  of  the  foregoing  estimate  lies  in  the  figures  for  the  nonbreeding 
animals.  It  is  worked  out  merely  because  such  an  estimate  is  asked  for  in  our 
instructions.  The  figures,  however,  satisfy  the  conditions  and  we  believe  approximate 
the  truth  as  closely  as  it  can  be  reached  at  the  present  time.  For  the  estimate  of 
breeding  animals,  which  is  really  the  important  thing,  we  have  no  apology  to  offer. 
It  is  practically  exact. 

To  eliminate  the  last  element  of  uncertainty  in  arriving  at  a  full  enumeration  of 
the  herd  it  is  only  necessary  to  continue  the  census  of  the  breeding  herd  each  year 
for  a  certain  period.  Knowing  the  number  of  pups  born  in  1896,  in  1899  it  will  be 
possible  from  the  quota  of  that  year  to  tell  with  reasonable  exactness  the  number 
which  survive  to  killable  age.  With  each  succeeding  year  the  data  will  become  more 
exact,  and  in  the  future  the  Government  can  know  exactly  what  quota  to  expect  and 
what  the  condition  of  the  hauling  as  well  as  of  the  breeding  grounds  is.  Given  the 
birth  rate  of  any  year  and  the  quota  of  three  years  later  can  be  determined.  In 
like  manner  from  the  quota  of  any  year  the  birth  rate  of  three  years  previous  can  be 
determined. 

THE  TRUE  BASIS  OF  ENUMERATION. 

The  only  reliable  basis  of  enumeration  has  been  found  and  demonstrated.  This 
is  a  count  of  live  pups.  The  pups  as  a  class  are  fixed  in  their  places  on  the  rookery 
for  the  first  six  weeks  of  their  lives.  Their  mothers  may  come  and  go,  but  they  remain. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  all  the  pups  on  all  the  rookeries  be  counted.  It  would  be 
impossible  to  make  a  count  on  the  larger  rookeries.  But  if  some  typical  rookery,  as 
Kitovi,  be  counted  each  year  to  obtain  the  average  size  of  harem,  and  then  the  harems 
be  counted  on  all  the  rookeries  about  the  15th  of  July,  the  average  harem  of  Kitovi 
being  applied  to  them,  a  census  exact  enough  for  every  purpose  can  be  obtained. 
From  this  census  and  the  quota  itself  the  completed  estimate  for  the  nonbreeding 
animals  can  be  made  up. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  HERD. 

ITS   HISTORY. 

It  necessarily  follows  from  the  foregoing  review  of  past  and  present  conditions 
that  the  fur-seal  herd  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  has  largely  declined  since  it  canie  into 
the  possession  of  the  United  States.  That  this  decline  is  still  in  progress  is  shown 
by  the  decrease  in  breeding  seals  between  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  and  in  the 
diminished  quota.  We  may  now  take  up  in  detail  a  consideration  of  this  decline  and 
endeavor  to  trace  its  history  and  find  its  cause. 

RUSSIAN  MANAGEMENT. 

Of  the  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  before  it  came  under  American  control  in 
1867  we  have  but  little  definite  information.  That  it  had  a  varied  history  we  know. 
The  excessive  slaughter  which  threatened  its  existence  in  1799  was  stopped  by  the 
advent  of  the  Eussian- American  Company.  Under  the  earlier  years  of  its  regime, 
however,  the  seals  were  indiscriminately  slaughtered,  females  as  well  as  males,  the 
only  difference  being  that  it  was  limited  slaughter. 

GRADUAL  IMPROVEMENT  IN  METHODS. 

Gradually  the  habits  and  needs  of  the  herd  began  to  be  understood  by  the 
Eussians  and  more  conservative  methods  came  into  vogue.  After  some  catastrophe 
which  involved  the  herd  about  the  year  1834,  of  which  the  cause  is  not  clearly 
known,  the  killing  of  females  was  prohibited,  and  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  before 
the  transfer  to  the  United  States  in  1867  the  killing  was  limited,  as  now,  to  the 
superfluous  males.  On  coming  into  the  control  of  the  United  States  the  herd  was  in 
a  growing  and  prosperous  condition. 

THE  EQUILIBRIUM  OF  THE  HERD. 

From  the  growing  ease  with  which  the  quota  was  filled  in  the  years  1871-1875, 
as  shown  by  the  gradual  recession  of  the  date  at  which  the  required  number  of  skins 
could  be  obtained,  we  may  infer  that  the  herd  even  increased  somewhat.  For  a  few 
years  longer,  or  until  1880  or  thereabouts,  the  herd  appears  to  have  remained  in  a  state 
of  equilibrium,  or  at  least  a  state  in  which  there  was  neither  marked  increase  nor 
decrease.  It  is  probable  that  during  this  period  the  annual  increment  of  breeders 
was  practically  balanced  by  the  various  checks  acting  upon  the  herd,  chief  among 
which  were  the  natural  mortality  among  the  young  upon  land  and  the  natural  death 
of  adult  females  at  sea  from  old  age. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  DECLINE. 

About  the  year  1884,  and  more  particularly  after  1886,  a  decline  began  to  be 
observable,  gradual  at  first,  then  more  rapid,  becoming  in  the  year  1890  alarming. 
102 


THE    QUOTA    OF    KILLABLE    SEALS,  103 

This  decrease  in  the  herd  was  first  felt  in  a  shifting  of  the  hauling  grounds  and 
afterwards  in  a  growing  scarcity  '  of  the  killable  seals  frequenting  them.  From  the 
year  1871,  a  quota  of  100,000  skins  had  been  annually  taken.  After  1883,  the 
date  at  which  this  number  could  be  obtained  from  the  hauling  grounds  became 
relatively  later,  requiring  more  frequent  and  later  driving.  Finally  it  was  necessary 
successively  to  lower  the  grade  of  killable  seals,  until  in  1889  to  get  the  quota  of 
100,000  nearly  the  entire  bachelor  herd,  down  to  and  including  most  of  the  yearlings, 
was  taken.  In  1890  the  collapse  came,  when  only  21,000  skins  could  be  secured. 

THE  FAILURE  OF  THE  QUOTA. 

The  sudden  drop  from  a  quota  of  100,000  in  1889  to  21,000  in  1890  of  course  does 
not  represent  a  correspondingly  sudden  drop  in  the  breeding  herd.  In  the  latter 
the  decrease  has  been  gradual  but  steady,  the  deficiency  in  breeding  cows  lessening  the 
birthrate  of  pups,  which  in  turn  diminished  the  annual  increment  of  3-year-old  breeders. 
It  also  indirectly  affected  the  hauling  grounds  by  diminishing  the  supply  of  bachelors, 
and  this  was  the  effect  which  first  made  itself  felt.  As  seals  of  the  proper  age 
became  scarce  the  quota  was  filled  by  lowering  the  age  to  2  years  and  afterwards  by 
including  the  larger  yearlings,  thus  anticipating  the  quota  of  succeeding  years.  Such 
a  course  of  action  would  not  have  been  indulged  in  except  for  the  fact  that  the  lease 
under  which  the  islands  were  then  held  was  approaching  its  expiration. 

THE  BREEDING  HERD. 

The  fall  in  the  bachelor  herd  served  to  call  attention  forcibly  to  the  condition  of 
the  breeding  herd,  a  matter  which  up  to  that  time  had  received  no  attention,  interest 
being  centered  solely  in  the  quota  of  the  bachelors.  Since  1890  the  breeding  herd  has 
been  more  or  less  constantly  under  investigation,  the  results  of  which,  however,  owing 
to  misinterpretation  of  some  of  the  important  facts  of  rookery  life  and  development, 
leave  us  confused  and  uncertain  as  to  the  actual  number  of  animals  constituting  the 
breeding  herd  during  these  years,  though  they  leave  no  doubt  as  to  its  continued 
decline. 

THE  QUOTA  SINCE  1890. 

In  the  meantime  events  conspired  to  confuse  the  hitherto  definite  results  obtained 
from  the  history  of  the  quota.  During  the  years  1891-93  land  killing  was  limited 
under  the  modus  vivendi  to  7,500  annually.  After  this  long  rest,  when  it  would  have 
been  natural  to  expect  an  increased  quota,  only  a  limited  one  was  taken,  a  fact  which 
seems  to  arise  rather  from  restrictions  in  the  methods  of  driving  than  from  the  lack 
of  seals.  We  find  from  the  table  of  daily  killing  (Appendix  I)  that  during  1894-95 
only  two  drives  each  were  made  from  the  various  hauling  grounds  in  the  killing 
season.  Middle  Hill  was  not  driven  from  at  all  in  1895,  nor  English  Bay  in  1894. 
The  quotas  of  10,000  and  15,000,  respectively,  for  these  years  do  not  therefore  give  any 
definite  information  as  to  the  normal  condition  of  the  bachelor  herd. 

THE  QUOTAS  OF  1894-95. 

The  probable  failure  to  take  the  full  quota  in  1894-95,  aided  in  1896  to  further 
confuse  matters  when  normal  driving  was  resumed.  In  this  latter  year  every  im- 
portant hauling  ground  was  driven  from  at  least  three  times  and  some  of  them  four 

1  See  table  of  drives  and  hauling  grounds,  p.  123. 


104  THE    FUR    .SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

times,  there  being  19  drives,  including  31  hauling  grounds.  In  1894  but  14  drives 
were  made  from  15  hauling  grounds  and  in  1895  12  drives  from  an  equal  number 
of  hauling  grounds.  The  quota  of  30,000  taken  in  1896  was  therefore  affected  in  a 
measure  by  the  nature  of  the  killing  of  the  seasons  immediately  preceding.  The 
quota  of  1897  is  more  nearly  normal,  but  with  the  years  immediately  preceding  it 
can  not  properly  be  compared. 

But  if  these  matters  have  tended  to  confuse  the  data  which  might  have  led  to  a 
definite  measure  of  decline,  they  do  not  obscure  the  fact  of  decline.  This  is  every- 
where distinct  and  unmistakable. 

THE  EVIDENCE  OF  DECLINE. 
ABANDONED    GROUNDS. 

To  the  eye  of  the  observer  perhaps  the  most  striking  proof  of  decline  is  in  the 
abandoned  rookery  spaces.  On  the  rear  and  on  either  side  of  the  present  rookery 
areas  are  great  tracts  of  ground  which  were  once  occupied,  but  which  are  now  grass- 
grown.  The  evidence  of  former  occupation  is  to  be  seen  in  the  felt-like  matting  of 
hair  over  the  surface,  in  the  smooth  condition  of  the  stones,  worn  by  the  moving 
animals,  and  especially  in  the  peculiar  vegetation  covering  the  area.  These  abandoned 
grounds  are  now  covered  with  fine  yellow  grass,  known  as  "seal  grass,"  which  grows 
here  and  nowhere  else. 

GRASS-GROWN   AREAS. 

On  some  of  the  rookeries  this  grass- grown  area  shows  three  distinct  stages. 
Close  to  the  space  at  present  occupied  is  a  narrow  belt  of  ground,  which  is  still  occasion- 
ally wandered  over  by  the  seals,  and  on  which  the  grass  is  just  beginning  to  spring  up 
in  spots  protected  by  stones.  This  area  shades  imperceptibly  into  the  absolutely 
bare  region  now  regularly  occupied.  Behind  this  space  lies  an  area  of  dark  green 
grass,  covering  ground  not  now  entered  by  the  seals.  The  luxuriant  growth  of  this 
grass  is  due  to  the  fertilizing  matter  in  the  more  recently  abandoned  grounds. 
Beyond  this  there  is  an  extensive  area  of  thinner  yellowish  grass  of  the  same  general 
character,  its  less  vigorous  growth  probably  connected  with  the  impoverished  condition 
of  the  soil. 

THEIR  EXTENT. 

On  several  of  the  rookeries  these  three  areas  are  clearly  denned,  and  on  all  of 
them  the  yellow-grass  area  is  very  extensive.  On  the  hauling  ground  of  Lukauin 
rookery  measurements  made  during  the  season  of  1896  show  the  area  of  dark  grass  to 
be  16  feet  in  width  and  the  area  of  yellow  grass  64  feet.  The  area  on  which  the  grass 
is  just  starting  is  less  definite,  and  can  not  be  measured  accurately.  The  outward 
line  of  the  yellow-grass  region  marks  the  extreme  limit  of  ground  at  any  time  occupied 
by  the  seals.  The  dark  green  area  marks  a  stage  of  more  recent  abandonment. 

On  certain  hauling  grounds  the  area  of  abandoned  territory  is  anywhere  from  ten 
to  twenty  times  the  area  at  present  occupied.  This,  however,  does  not  mean  that 
there  has  been  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  bachelor  herds.  Observations  show 
that  a  small  band  of  bachelors  can  in  a  few  days  denude  a  large  grass-grown  area  if 
they  begin  to  wander  and  sleep  upon  it.  Five  or  six  times  the  present  number  of 
bachelors  would  doubtless  denude  all  these  areas. 


VALUE    OF    PHOTOGRAPHS.  105 

These  abandoned  areas,  while  they  do  not  give  exact  information  regarding  the 
amount  of  decrease,  certainly  do  offer  unmistakable  evidence  of  a  large  decrease. 
The  presence  of  the  dark  green  grass  area  shows  also  that  part  of  the  decrease  has 
been  recent,  while  the  area  where  the  grass  is  just  starting  indicates  that  it  is  still 
going  on. 

THE    TIME   NECESSARY   TO   ESTABLISH   THESE   AREAS. 

The  period  necessary  for  these  grass-grown  areas  to  become  established  was  the 
subject  of  much  debate  in  1892.  In  that  year  a  small  plot  of  ground,  then  entirely 
bare,  was  marked  off  with  cairns  of  stones.  It  is  now  closely  filled  with  the  charac- 
teristic "seal"  grass  and  other  vegetation,  including  saxifrage  and  wormwood.  This 
furnishes  proof  that  within  four,  or  at  most  five,  seasons  an  area  abandoned  by  the 
seals  may  become  grass-grown.  The  yellow-grass  areas  are  therefore  not  of  too 
remote  date  to  be  identified  with  the  decline  of  the  herd,  which  began  to  make  itself 
felt  about  the  year  1884,  thirteen  years  ago. 

PHOTOGRAPHS. 

A  second  evidence  of  decline  is  to  be  found  in  the  comparative  condition  of  the 
rookeries  as  shown  by  the  annual  series  of  photographs  which  have  been  taken 
each  year  since  1892.  On  certain  rookeries,  which  lie  for  the  most  part  within 
circumscribed  limits  on  bowlder  beaches,  differences  are  not  clearly  marked;  nor 
do  the  photographs  of  one  year  compared  with  the  year  immediately  preceding  or 
following  it  show  very  definite  results.  But  when  we  compare  photographs  of  Tolstoi, 
or  Eeef,  for  example,  for  1896  or  1897  with  photographs  of  the  same  rookeries  for  1892, 
the  evidence  of  decline  is  marked  and  unmistakable.  In  Appendix  III  will  be  found 
examples  of  these  and  similar  photographs,  to  which  reference  should  be  made. 

PHOTOGRAPHS   BETWEEN    SUCCESSIVE    SEASONS   INADEQUATE. 

That  a  comparison  of  photographs  for  two  successive  seasons  should  not  show 
definite  results  is  not  strange,  considering  the  shifting  and  changing  character  of  the 
rookery  population  and  the  broken  nature  of  the  ground  the  seals  occupy.  By  way 
of  illustration,  the  estimated  decline  between  the  season  of  1896  and  1897  was  in  the 
neighborhood  of  15  per  cent  of  the  breeding  herd.  This  would  mean  the  absence  of 
20,000  animals.  But  as  only  half  of  the  cows  are  ever  present  at  one  time  even  at  the 
maximum  height  of  the  season,  the  actual  absence  of  seals  involved  could  not  exceed 
10,000.  There  are  more  than  8  miles  of  rocky  and  broken  shore  line  occupied  by  the 
breeding  seals  throughout  which  this  loss  must  be  distributed.  That  it  should  not  be 
perceptible  to  the  eye  at  any  one  point  or  be  capable  of  measurement  in  a  photograph 
is  but  natural. 

THEIR   VALUE   COVERING  LONG   PERIODS. 

But  while  it  is  in  general  true  that  the  photographs  of  one  season  compared  with 
those  of  the  next  do  not  show  definite  results,  we  must  make  one  exception.  A 
comparison  of  the  series  of  photographs  for  1894  with  those  for  1895,  wherever  the 
conditions  are  favorable  for  showing  anything,  show  a  marked  diminution  in  the 
latter  year.  In  Appendix  III  some  examples  of  these  photographs  will  be  found. 


106  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

It  is  evident  that  between  these  two  seasons  the  decrease  in  the  herd  was  more 
strongly  marked  than  between  any  other  two  seasons.  The  reason  for  this  is  of 
course  plain  and  will  be  referred  to  again  in  its  appropriate  connection.  In  a  word, 
the  resumption  of  pelagic  sealing  in  1894,  nearly  doubling  as  it  did  the  draft  of  the 
preceding  year  on  the  herd,  naturally  showed  itself  very  strongly  on  the  rookeries 
in  1895. 

PHOTOGRAPHS   OF   ABANDONED   TERRITORY. 

There  is  one  way  in  which  the  photographs  of  successive  seasons  show  definite 
results,  and  this  is  in  the  recording  of  the  absolute  abandonment  of  breeding  ground. 
Thus  on  the  flat  at  the  head  of  the  "slide"  on  Ardiguen  rookery  there  were  78  cows 
in  the  season  of  1896  and  none  whatever  in  1897.  This  fact  is  clearly  recorded  in  the 
photographs  of  the  two  seasons.  Photographs  of  the  large  breeding  masses  on  Reef 
rookery,  Tolstoi,  and  Vostochni,  which  are  calculated  to  show  most  plainly  the  effects 
of  shrinkage,  give  clear  evidence  of  the  fact  even  between  two  successive  seasons. 
This  evidence  might  not,  however,  in  view  of  the  daily  fluctuations  in  rookery  popula- 
tion, be  so  clear  if  it  were  not  corroborated  by  more  definite  proof. 

THEIR   LIMITATIONS. 

There  are,  on  the  whole,  many  reasons  why  photographs  are  at  best  unsatisfactory 
guides  to  the  actual  condition  of  the  rookeries  from  year  to  year.  In  the  first  place,  it 
is  difficult  to  take  them  on  exactly  the  same  dates  on  account  of  adverse  weather 
conditions,  and  to  be  of  value  for  comparison  between  two  successive  seasons  they 
should  be  so  taken.  Again,  the  period  during  which  photographs  of  any  value  can  be 
taken  is  short.  It  falls  within  a  few  days  before  or  after  the  loth  of  J  uly,  which  was 
found  in  the  season  of  1897  to  be  the  maximum  date  of  rookery  population.  But 
between  this  maximum  and  the  population  of  the  8th  of  July  there  had  been  an 
increase  of  20  per  cent,  while  on  the  other  hand  from  the  maximum  of  the  20th  of  the 
same  month  there  was  a  decline  in  population  of  38  per  cent. 

THEIR   RELATION   TO   THE   DAILY   COUNTS. 

To  take  a  concrete  example:  The  population  of  the  Amphitheater  of  Kitovi,  as 
counted  at  its  maximum  on  July  15,  showed  703  breeding  cows  present.  On  the  14th 
its  population  was  556,  a  difference  between  the  two  days  of  20  per  cent.  Photographs 
for  these  two  days  of  this  rookery  in  the  breeding  season  of  1897  would  have  indicated 
20  per  cent  of  difference,  if  they  indicated  anything.  Suppose  similar  conditions  for 
the  year  1896,  and  that  a  photograph  taken  on  the  14th  of  July  in  one  year  is  to  be 
compared  with  one  taken  on  the  same  date  of  the  next,  or  vice  versa.  Such  a  com- 
parison would  clearly  be  misleading.  The  result  would  be  more  striking  if  the 
comparison  was  made  between  a  photograph  in  one  season  for  the  15th  and  one  in 
another  season  for  the  20th.  If  we  continue  the  comparison  we  find  that  by  the  31st 
of  July  our  population  of  breeding  cows  has  declined  46  per  cent  from  its  maximum. 

Here,  however,  comes  in  another  element  of  confusion  in  the  use  of  photographs. 
The  pups  have  been  growing  in  the  meantime  and  are  becoming  more  and  more 
conspicuous.  They  are  always  at  least  twice  as  numerous  as  the  cows,  and  in  a 
distance  photograph  they  can  not  be  readily  distinguished  from  their  mothers.  It 
therefore  happens  that  a  photograph  taken  on  the  31st  of  July  for  the  Amphitheater 


EVIDENCES  OF  DECLINE.  107 

of  Kitovi,  when  only  about  half  as  many  cows  were  present,  shows  to  the  casual 
observer  vastly  more  animals  than  one  taken  on  the  loth.  This  condition  of  things 
continues  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  summer,  the  cows  becoming  more  scarce 
and  the  pups  more  conspicuous. 

THE  TRUE  VALUE  OF  PHOTOGRAPHS. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  discussion  to  belittle  the  value  of  photographs. 
They  have  their  place  and  importance,  but  it  is  not  their  function  to  measure  the 
decline  which  the  fur-seal  herd  is  at  present  suffering,  or  has  suffered  in  the  past  from 
year  to  year.  By  a  comparison  of  photographs  taken  at  widely  different  dates,  some 
of  them  in  July,  others  in  August,  Professor  Thompson,  in  his  report  for  1896,  sought 
to  prove  that  no  decline  had  occurred  in  the  herd  between  the  seasons  of  1896  and 
1895.  In  view  of  this  fact  it  becomes  necessary  for  us  to  define  the  importance  and 
limitations  of  photographs  as  a  measure  of  decline  in  rookery  life. 

Photographs,  in  our  judgment,  are  of  value  only  as  showing  the  large  results  or 
changes  which  come  through  long  periods  of  time.  The  photographs  of  the  rookeries 
of  the  Pribilof  Islands  show  us  plainly  that  its  herd  of  seals  has  suffered  a  heavy 
diminution  since  1892.  Those  for  the  years  1894  and  1895  show  clearly  the  disastrous 
results  of  the  resumption  of  pelagic  sealing  under  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  award. 
Between  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  photographs  can  only  be  trusted  to  record 
change  where  breeding  ground  has  been  actually  abandoned.  Of  the  magnitude  of 
the  decrease  which  the  herd  has  suffered  in  the  past  five  years  photographs  afford 
abundant  evidence,  but  they  give  no  measure  either  of  the  total  decrease  nor  of  its 
rate  from  year  to  year.  Finally,  for  comparison  only  photographs  taken  at  middle  of 

July  can  be  used. 

TOWNSEND'S  CROSSES. 

One  of  the  most  definite  evidences  of  decline  is  to  be  found  in  the  shrinkage  of 
certain  large  breeding  masses  on  such  rookeries  as  Tolstoi,  Zapadui,  and  Vostochni. 
This  is  most  plainly  shown  in  the  relation  of  the  breeding  masses  to  certain  crosses 
which  Mr.  Townseud,  in  1895,  painted  to  mark  their  outward  extension.  During 
the  season  of  1896  these  crosses  were  in  no  case  reached  at  the  corresponding  period. 
In  some  cases  the  breeding  masses  fell  away  from  them  from  50  to  100  feet.  In  1897 
the  shrinkage  was  measured  by  yards  where  in  1896  it  was  measured  by  feet. 

SHRINKAGE  OF  BREEDING  AREA. 

Another  positive  evidence  of  decrease  is  to  be  found  in  the  disappearance  of 
certain  small  patches  of  breeding  seals  noted  and  marked  on  the  rookery  maps  of 
1895,  but  which  were  not  to  be  found  in  1896.  One  of  these  groups  of  harems  was  at 
the  southern  end  of  Vostochni.  Two  others  were  at  the  extremities  of  the  breeding 
ground,  known  as  Zapadui  Reef. 

TOLSTOI  SAND  FLAT,  ARDIGUEN,  ETC. 

In  1897  this  abandonment  of  breeding  territory  was  still  more  noticeable  as  a 
result  of  the  minute  inspection  of  the  two  seasons.  On  the  sand  flat  of  Tolstoi  but  a 
small  fraction  of  the  area  occupied  in  1896  was  covered  this  year,  and  practically  no 
seals  were  on  the  slopes  behiud.  At  the  head  of  the  "slide"  on  Ardiguen  last  year 
were  three  harems,  aggregating  78  cows,  as  seen  on  the  14th  of  July.  Making  the 
necessary  allowance  for  absentees,  there  must  have  been  an  actual  total  of  at  least 


108 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


150.  This  year  not  a  single  cow  located  permanently  on  tins  territory,  and  the  three 
bulls,  corresponding  to  the  harems  of  last  year,  remained  idle  throughout  the  season. 

Another  point  where  the  shrinkage  was  plainly  marked  was  at  a  prominent 
observation  point  known  as  "Old  John's  Kock,"  about  which  during  the  summer  of 
1896  a  large  harem  clustered ;  the  ground  was  fully  occupied  between  it  and  the  water. 
This  year  the  breeding  seals  did  not  reach  within  100  feet  of  this  rock  at  any  time 
during  the  season.  Again  the  absence  of  breeding  seals  from  the  runways  and  breaks 
in  the  cliffs  of  Lukauin  rookery,  another  observation  point  frequented  during  both 
seasons,  was  very  marked. 

Similar  examples  might  be  cited  from  all  the  rookeries  closely  observed.  Such 
abandonment  of  rookery  ground  can  have  but  one  explanation,  namely,  decrease 
iu  the  breeding  herd. 

THE  DECREASE  IN  DEAD  PUPS. 

A  striking,  though  indirect,  evidence  of  decline  in  the  breeding  herd  is  brought 
out  by  the  marked  decrease  in  the  mortality  among  nursing  pups  in  the  breeding 
season.  On  all  the  massed  rookery  portions  the  population  of  breeding  seals  was 
much  sparcer  during  the  season  of  1897.  On  the  sand  flat  of  Tolstoi  and  in  the 
gullies  of  Zapadni  only  a  small  portion  of  the  space  occupied  in  1896  was  occupied 
in  1897.  We  are  not,  therefore,  surprised  to  find  the  following  contrast: 

De-ad  pups,  August  10. 


Rookery. 

1896. 

1897. 

Tolstoi  Sand  Flat  and  adjacent  beach       

1  495 

593 

Zapadui  Gullies  and  adjacent  beaches    

1  314 

689 

Gorbatch  

712 

382 

Reef  

950 

642 

These  counts  were  made  where  the  death  rate  had  to  do  directly  with  the 
crowding  of  the  seals  on  certain  defective  breeding  spaces. 

THE   INCREASED   MORTALITY  AMONG   COWS. 

In  this  connection  may  be  cited  one  further  evidence  of  decline.  On  Reef  rookery, 
where  25  cows  were  found  dead  in  1896,  42  were  found  in  1897.  The  diminished  supply 
of  cows  led  to  fiercer  struggles  for  their  possession  and  consequently  the  death  of  a 
greater  number.  The  deaths  of  cows  on  the  breeding  grounds  are  due  chiefly,  if  not 
wholly,  to  the  rough  treatment  by  the  bulls. 

THE   DIMINISHED   QUOTA. 

But  the  most  clear  and  positive  evidence  of  decline  is  found  in  the  reduction  of 
the  quota  of  killable  seals.  The  sexes  are  equal  at  birth.  They  must  be  subject  to 
like  natural  enemies  and  hardship.  Whatever  tends  to  diminish  the  bachelor  herd 
must  in  like  measure  affect  the  number  of  .'5-year-old  cows  which  each  year  take  their 
places  as  breeders  on  the  rookeries. 

For  twenty  years  after  the  islands  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States 
it  was  possible  to  take  each  year  a  quota  of  approximately  100,000  young  males. 
During  at  least  thirteen  years  of  this  period  this  quota  could  be  obtained  easily  and 
without  exhausting  the  hauling  grounds.  This  year  it  was  more  difficult  to  get  a 
quota  of  20,000  skins  than  it  was  in  1880  to  get  one  of  100,000.  The  inference  is  obvious. 


ACTUAL    COUNTS    OF    PUPS. 


109 


THE  DECLINE  BETWEEN  1896  AND  1897. 

As  n  result  of  the  investigations  of  the  past  two  seasons  we  are  able  now  to  sub 
mit  definite  and  tinal  proof  not  only  of  the  fact  of  decline,  but  also  an  approximately 
accurate  measure  of  its  rate. 

COMPARATIVE  COUNTS,  1896-97. 

During  the  season  of  1896  a  very  accurate  estimate  of  the  total  number  of  harems 
on  the  two  islands  was  made.  On  certain  rookeries  and  parts  of  rookeries  careful 
counts  of  the  individual  cows  present  were  made  at  the  height  of  the  season  and  on 
approximately  the  same  dates  each  year.  Afterwards  a  thorough  enumeration  of  the 
live  and  dead  pups  on  the  same  breeding  grounds  was  made.  We  have  had  occasion 
to  criticise  and  revise  our  detailed  census  of  1896,  but  this  revision  does  not  affect  the 
actual  counts  for  that  year,  which  we  have  no  occasion  to  alter. 

These  comparative  counts  for  the  two  seasons  are  as  follows:  * 

Actual  co nuts,  1896-97. 


Rookery. 

Harems. 

Cows. 

Pups. 

1896. 

1897. 

1896. 

1897. 

1896. 

1897. 

Kitovi  

182 
120 
108 
176 
86 
(«•) 
27 

179 
115 
98 
114 
61 
33 
33 

3,152 
1,474 
1.498 
2,256 
1,266 

(6) 
550 

2,436 
1,319 
1,286 
1,049 
747 
497 
470 

6,049 
2,484 
2,664 
3,862 
2,496 
1,350 
(6) 

5,289 
2,598 
(a) 
3,041 
2,  200 
1,190 
736 

Lagoon  

Tolstoi  (cliffs)  

Zapadui  Keef  

Polovina  (cliffs)  

Little  East2  ...               

Ardiguen  

a  Not  counted. 

b  Count  of  1896  rejected  as  obviously  incorrect. 


1  These  figures  are  the  joint  work  of  Mr.  Clark,  of  the  American  commission,  and  Mr.  Macoun,  of  the  British 
commission.  They  were  accepted  by  Professor  Thompson,  though  made  in  his  absence,  as  he  did  not  arrive  in  time  to 
witness  the  work.  After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Macoun  and  ourselves  from  the  islands  Professor  Thompson,  assisted  by 
Mr.  Lucas,  undertook  a  recount  of  the  live  pups.  Mr.  Lucas's  action  in  the  matter  was  one  purely  of  courtesy,  no 
responsibility  for  the  work  of  enumeration  having  been  assigned  to  him  by  the  commissioner  in  charge. 

In  the  recount  on  Kitovi  rookery  Professor  Thompson  found  5,534  live  pups;  Mr.  Lucas,  5,577.  In  a  single  portion, 
of  the  rookery  Mr.  Lucas  found  1,318  pups,  whereas  Professor  Thompson  found  only  1,217.  No  effort  was  made  by 
recounting  or  otherwise  to  remove  discrepancies.  The  mean  of  the  two  counts,  or  5,555,  was  assumed  as  the  total.  To 
this  the  dead  pups  being  added,  a  total  of  5,760  pups  for  this  rookery  was  found  as  against  5,289  originally  counted. 

Afterwards  a  recount  of  Zapadui  Keef  was  made.  Here,  following  the  same  methods,  a  total  of  2,786  pups  was 
found  as  against  the  total  of  3,041  of  the  original  count.  No  further  recounts  were  attempted. 

Professor  Thompson  has  seen  fit  to  substitute  the  results  of  his  recount  on  Kitovi  rookery  for  the  official  one, 
rejecting  as  unsatisfactory  his  recount  of  Zapadni  Keef.  A  comparison  of  the  two  counts  shows  plainly  why.  Had 
Professor  Thompson  substituted  both  counts,  or  better  yet,  had  he  completed  the  recount  on  the  remaining:  rookeries  and 
used  the  completed  results,  his  action  would  have  been  less  open  to  criticism. 

The  results  of  the  recounts  are  in  no  sense  binding  upon  the  American  commission.  They  bear  on  their  face  the 
evidence  of  their  faulty  character,  which  is  strengthened  by  the  admission  that  one  at  least  is  in  error.  It  may  he  said 
that  Mr.  Macoun  does  not  share  with  his  colleague  the  faith  which  is  placed  in  the  recount. 

We  may  say  that  in  these  recounts  no  precaution  was  taken  which  was  omitted  in  the  original  count.  The 
conditions  of  the  count  by  Clark  and  Maconn  were  more  favorable.  The  pups  were  ten  days  younger,  were  less  active,  and 
were  not  going  into  the  water.  The  count  was  made  in  a  continuous  session  of  five  hours,  whereas  in  the  recount  the 
rookerv  was  abandoned  for  a  period  at  noon,  giving  room  for  the  possibility  of  shifting  among  the  pups. 

The  grave  objection  to  the  recounts,  however,  rests  in  the  fact  that  neither  Mr.  Lucas  nor  Professor  Thompson  had 
had  any  considerable  experience  in  the  work  of  counting.  On  the  other  hand  Messrs.  Clark  and  Macouu  made  their  count 
on  Kitovi  rookery  after  having  counted  10,000  live  pups  in  1897  and  nearly  25,000  in  1896,  to  say  nothing  of  27,000  dead 
ones  and  great  numbers  of  cows  and  harems. 

There  is  no  work  in  which  experience  and  adaptability  count  for  more  than  ia  the  counting  of  the  live  pups.  The 
original  counts,  therefore,  stand  to  the  recounts  as  the  work  of  experts  to  that  of  amateurs.  It  is  with  great  reluctance  that 
we  refer  to  this  matter,  and  we  would  not  mention  it  were  it  not  that  Professor  Thompson  lias  used  it  to  cast  discredit  on 
figures  undoubtedly  accurate  and  trustworthy.  Even  with  his  substitution  there  is  still  left  by  his  own  accepted  figures  a 
positive  decline  of  9.1  per  cent.  The  difference  between  this  and  12  per  cent  is  of  no  real  importance  except  that  the  use  of 
the  discrepant  figures  serves  needlessly  to  weaken  the  apparent  force  of  evidence  drawn  from  actual  enumerations. 


110  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIKILOF    ISLANDS. 

SUMMARY    OF   PERCENTAGES. 

From  these  figures  we  may  draw  the  following  summary  of  percentages: 

Percentages  of  decline  as  shown  by  counts. 


Count  of— 

189«>. 

1897. 

Percent- 
age of 
decrease. 

699 

633 

9  5 

10,  198 

7  307 

28  34 

16,  241 

14  318 

11  8 

The  results  in  this  limited  count  of  harems  are  not  so  striking  as  in  the  completed 
count  of  harems  for  each  season  on  all  the  rookeries.  These  were  4,932  in  1896  and 
4,418  in  1897,  a  decrease  of  10.41  per  cent. 

DECREASE   IN   THE   AVERAGE   SIZE   OF   HAREMS. 

In  connection  with  this  marked  decline  in  the  number  of  breeding  families  it  may 
be  noted  that  on  Kitovi  rookery,  which  we  have  taken  as  typical  of  rookery  conditions 
in  general,  there  is  also  a  marked  decrease  in  the  size  of  the  individual  harem.  In 
1896  the  apparent  size  of  harem,  as  shown  by  a  count  of  cows,  was  17.3;  in  1897  it  was 
13.6,  a  decrease  of  21  per  cent.  As  this  rookery  was  counted  on  exactly  the  same  date 
and  under  like  conditions  these  figures  may  properly  be  compared  and  are  significant. 

THE   COUNT   OF   COWS. 

The  count  of  cows,  which  shows  a  decrease  of  28.34  per  cent,  is  less  certain  but 
is  still  significant.  Owing  to  their  constant  coming  and  going,  the  number  of  females 
on  the  rookeries  in  the  height  of  the  season  varies  greatly  from  day  to  day.  This  will 
be  clearly  seen  by  reference  to  the  daily  counts  of  cows  on  Lukaniu  and  Kitovi  rookeries 
during  the  season  of  1897,  which  will  be  found  in  Appendix  I.  The  count  of  cows 
and  pups,  as  recorded  above  in  the  case  of  Zapadni  Reef  and  Polovina  cliffs,  where  the 
latter  were  three  times  as  numerous  as  the  cows,  furnishes  a  good  illustration.  At 
the  same  time,  while  the  decrease  shown  by  the  comparative  counts  of  cows  can  not  be 
taken  at  its  full  value,  the  fact  of  large  decline  thus  shown  can  not  be  ignored. 

THE   COUNT   OF   PUPS   AN   ABSOLUTE  MEASURE. 

The  final  and  absolute  measure  of  decline,  however,  is  to  be  found  in  the  counts 
of  pups.  As  we  have  seen,  the  number  of  harems  fluctuates.  The  cows  come  and  go, 
and  throughout  the  breeding  season  the  rookeries  are  undergoing  constant  change. 
With  the  pups  this  is  not  the  case.  They  are  fixed  upon  the  rookery  to  which  they 
belong  at  least  for  the  first  six  weeks  of  their  lives.  A  count  of  these  animals,  living 
and  dead,  is  an  exact  index  to  the  number  of  breeding  cows  which  have  during  the 
season  appeared  upon  the  breeding  ground  in  question. 


THE    QUOTA    OF    KILLABLE    BACHELORS.  Ill 

LAGOON  ROOKERY. 

For  the  whole  number  of  pups  counted,  and  the  area  covered  is  varied  enough  to 
be  typical,  we  find  that  there  has  been  a  decrease  of  11.8  per  cent.  By  reference  to  the 
count  on  Lagoon  rookery,  however,  it  will  be  seen  that  instead  of  a  decrease  since  189G 
there  has  been  an  increase  of  3  per  cent.  This  increase  is  apparent  rather  than  real 
for  both  the  number  of  cows  and  the  number  of  harems  present  on  this  rookery  in 
the  height  of  the  season  had  decreased.  As  a  matter  of  fact  we  know  that  the 
count  of  Lagoon  rookery  for  1896  was  much  less  accurate  than  that  for  1897  because 
in  the  latter  year  it  was  made  under  more  advantageous  conditions.  We  are  convinced, 
therefore,  that  the  count  of  1896  is  somewhat  in  error. 

If  we  drop  Lagoon  rookery  from  the  calculation  the  percentage  of  decrease,  as 
shown  by  our  count  of  pups,  rises  practically  to  15  per  cent.  We  do  not  insist  upon 
this,  and  are  willing  to  abide  by  the  figure  of  12  per  cent  which  the  completed  count 
shows.  The  difference  between  12  per  cent  and  15  per  cent  is  immaterial.  The  fact 
remains  that  by  the  count  of  pups,  which  is  the  surest  basis  of  knowledge  as  to  the 
condition  of  the  herd,  the  birthrate,  and  consequently  the  herd  of  breeding  females, 
has  suffered  since  the  season  of  1896  a  decrease  which  can  not  be  less  than  12  per 
cent,  and  which  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  is  as  high  as  15  per  cent. 

THE  QUOTAS  OF  1896  AND  1897. 

There  remains  one  further  element  of  comparison  between  the  seasons  of  1896 
and  1897  to  complete  the  proof  of  the  decline  in  the  fur-seal  herd.  This  is  the  com- 
parison of  the  quotas  of  the  two  years. 

THE  QUOTA  OF  1896  FIXED. 

In  1896  30,000  skins  were  obtained,  the  quota  being  fixed  at  that  figure.  It  is 
probable  that  a  few  thousand  more  killable  seals  could  have  been  taken  had  the  quota 
been  an  indefinite  one.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  a  number  of  2-year-old  seals 
were  taken,  which  to  a  certain  extent  anticipated  the  quota  of  1897.  To  the  best  of 
our  knowledge  these  two  elements  in  the  quota  of  1896  balance  one  another,  and  we 
may  consider  its  total  as  fairly  representative  of  the  hauling  grounds  of  that  year. 

THE  QUOTA  OF  1897  INDEFINITE. 

Ill  1897  the  quota  was  left  without  definite  limit  to  secure  the  utmost  product  of 
the  herd,  the  rookeries  being  already  grossly  overstocked  with  male  life  so  far  as  the 
need  for  breeding  purposes  was  concerned.  The  driving  was  therefore  done  more 
thoroughly  and  continued  for  a  longer  period,  extending  until  the  10th  of  August, 
whereas  in  1896  it  was  terminated  on  the  27th  of  July.  To  make  the  conditions  sur- 
rounding the  quota  of  1896  and  1897  clear,  we  may  here  insert  the  statistics  regarding 
the  killings  of  the  two  seasons. 


112 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Kill  \nyn  for  the  quota,  1S06. 
ST.  PAUL  ISLAM i. 


Hauling  ground. 

I):ite. 

Animals 
killed. 

Percent 
age  killed. 

Autumn  1895 

929 

Do     

Spring  

384 

Zoltoi       

June  19  

283 

June  20  

2 

June  23 

1  414 

Do          

June  24  

1  408 

Reef        

June  27  

2  076 

English  Bay  Middle  Hill,  Tolstoi  

June  29  

1  398 

July  2  

1,396 

Do                                

July  3 

1   104 

July  6 

1  535 

July  7     

784 

July  8  

961 

Reef  Zoltoi     

July  10  

1,271 

July  i;j  

1,045 

Do                

July  14  

1,169 

Reef  Zoltoi    

July  15  

849 

0  44 

Tolstoi  Middle  Hill,  English  Bay  

July  16  

1,  138 

46 

July  21  

808 

35 

Do                   

July  22  

1,047 

July  23 

585 

47 

Lukauin  Kitovi  Zoltoi,  Reef  

July  25  

1  630 

.42 

Middle  Hill  Tolstoi,  Lukanin      

July  27  

621 

43 

Total           

23,  842 

ST.  GEORGE  ISLAKD. 


Hauling  ground. 

Date. 

Animals 
killed. 

Pereent- 
agekilled. 

Spring-Autumn  .  . 

327 

July  19    

576 

0  32 

July  24      

568 

76 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  
East                             

July  26  
July  2!)    

999 
804 

.72 
62 

Julv2  

333 

.68 

July  6 

700 

56 

July  7  

614 

57 

July  9 

221 

40 

July  13    . 

487 

46 

Jul'y  21  

221 

.27 

July  24 

308 

17 

Total  

6,158 

KILLINGS    FOR    QUOTA    OF    1897. 


113 


Killings  for  the  quota,  1897. 
ST.  PAUL. 


Hauling  ground. 

Date. 

Number 
killed. 

Percent- 
age 
killed. 

Autumn  and  spring.. 

1,701 
492 
316 
708 
1,098 
790 
703 
208 
703 
1,230 
1,713 
456 
804 
1,249 
886 
297 
988 
1,322 
274 
526 
514 
199 
268 
276 
108 
418 
101 
172 

"6."  65" 
.67 
.48 
.64 
.57 
.58 
.53 
.63 
.67 
.65 
.68 
.50 
.58 
.53 
.66 
.39 
.34 
.24 
.23 
.27 
.20 
.16 
.20 
.16 
.19 
.15 
.20 

Reef  

Zapadni  .Tune  18 

Zoltoi.  Reef,  ;md  Lukanin  June  23       ... 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  English  Bay  June  26  
Northeast  Point  .Tnn«  30 

Do  

July  1  - 

Lukauin  

J  uly  2 

Reef  and  Zoltoi        

July  5 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  English  Bay  . 

July  6 

Northeast  Point  ... 

July  8 

Polovina  

July  9 

Reef  and  Ltikanin  

July  12 

Northeast  Point  

July  14 

Zapadni  

July  16 

Middle  Hill  and  English  Bay  

July  17 

Lukanin,  Zoltoi,  and  Reef  

July  19 

Northeast  Point  

July  22 

Polovina  

July  23 

Lukanin  and  Reef  

July  24 

Zapadni  

July  26 

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  

July  27 

Northeast  Point  

July  29 

Do  

July  30 

Polovina  

July  31 

Reef  and  Lukanin  

Middle  Hill  and  English  Bay.  .  . 
Reef  ;  

August  5  

Total  

18,520 



ST.  GEORGE. 


Hauling  ground. 

Date. 

Number 
killed. 

Percent- 
age 
killed. 

Food  skins  to  date  

228 

East  

150 

0  36 

Food  skins  

June  19  24 

10 

Zapadni  

140 

34 

Food  skins  

July  1 

2 

Staraya  Artel  

July  3 

70 

16 

Food  skins  

July  3 

4 

Bast  

July  7 

927 

29 

Food  skins  

July  8-10 

g 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  
East  

July  13  
July  16 

253 
209 

.26 
22 

Food  skins  

July  17 

4 

Zapadni  

July  19 

104 

13 

East,  North,  and  Staraya  Artel  
Food  skins  

July  22  
July  24-'il 

391 

10 

.18 

East  

179 

16 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  
Food  skins  "  

August  4  

153 
6 

.16 

East,  North,  and  Staraya  Artel  
Food  skins  

August  10  

207 
17 

.12 

Total  

2  370 

15184- 


114  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  QUOTA  OF  1897  HARDER  TO  GET. 

It  must  be  evident  from  a  study  of  these  figures  that  the  quota  of  1890  was  in 
every  way  easier  to  procure  than  that  for  1897.  In  the  latter  year  the  driving  was 
continued  ten  days  longer  on  St.  Paul  Island  and  sixteen  days  longer  on  St.  George. 
The  lowest  percentage  of  animals  killed  in  any  drive  on  St.  Paul  in  1896  was  35;  in 
1897  it  was  lowered  to  15  per  cent.  On  St.  George  the  lowest  point  reached  in  1890 
was  17  per  cent;  in  1897  it  was  12  per  cent.  The  reduction  in  the  percentage  of  seals 
killed  marks  the  degree  of  exhaustion  of  the  hauling  grounds. 

THE  QUOTA  A  DIRECT  MEASURE  OF  THE  BREEDING  HERD. 

This  comparison  of  the  bachelor  herd  of  1896  and  1897  is  a  direct  measure  of  the 
condition  of  the  breeding  herd  in  the  years  1893  and  1894  Avhen  these  killable  seals 
were  born.  It  is  not  a  measure  of  the  condition  of  the  breeding  herd  of  1896  and  1897. 
To  understand  why  the  loss  in  the  breeding  herd  for  the  season  of  1894  as  compared 
with  that  for  1893  was  nearly  30  per  cent,  while  the  present  rate  of  decrease  is  but 
15  per  cent,  it  is  only  necessary  to  consider  that  in  1894  pelagic  sealing  was  resumed 
in  Bering  Sea  after  the  modus  vivendi  and  the  herd  that  year  suffered  its  greatest  loss, 
amounting  to  60,000  seals,  whereas  in  1893  its  loss  was  only  30,000.  This  fully  accounts 
for  the  great  difference  between  the  decrease  for  the  season  of  1897  in  the  fur-seal  herd 
as  measured  by  the  product  of  its  hauling  grounds  and  as  measured  by  its  birth  rate 
for  the  same  season.  The  pelagic  catch  which  affected  the  breeding  herd  between 
1896  and  1897  was  about  one-half  as  great  as  that  which  affected  the  breeding  herd 
between  1893  and  1894.  In  other  words,  the  pelagic  catch  of  1894  was  double  that 
of  1893,  while  the  catch  of  1897  was  about  one  half  that  of  1896. 1 

THE  QUOTA  OF  1897  AND  THE  PARIS  REGULATIONS. 

Not  only  does  this  marked  decrease  in  the  quota  emphasize  the  fact  of  decline  in 
the  herd,  but  it  fixes  more  clearly  than  ever  the  responsibility  upon  pelagic  sealing, 
and  forcibly  condemns  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  Award,  in  the  opening  year  of  the 
operation  of  which  the  loss  which  it  indicates  was  sustained. 

THE    TOTAL   DECLINE   IN   THE   HERD. 

In  this  comparison  of  the  quota  of  killable  seals  with  the  breeding  nerd  of  the 
year  in  which  its  individuals  were  born,  we  find  the  necessary  basis  for  an  estimate  of 
the  total  decline  which  the  herd  has  suffered.  The  killable  seals  found  in  1897  bear  a 
direct  relation  to  the  breeding  herd  of  1894.  In  like  manner  the  quota  of  100,000  skins 
taken  in  1880,  for  example,  bears  a  direct,  and  we  may  suppose,  proportionate  rela- 
tion to  the  breeding  herd  of  1897.  The  breeding  herd  which  could  without  difficulty 
furnish  100,000  killable  seals  in  1880  must  have  been  at  least  five  times  as  great  as  the 
herd  which  can  to-day  with  difficulty  furnish  20,000.  And  when  we  take  into  account 
the  increased  effort  required  to  secure  the  latter  quota,  we  may  assume  that  the  total 
decline  in  the  herd  really  lies  between  four-fifths  and  five-sixths  of  its  maximum  size. 


'This  fact  is  overlooked  by  Professor  Thotnpsoii  when  lie  asserts  "that  the  ratio  of  the  catch 
(quota)  of  1897  to  that  of  1896  is  not  a  fair  proportionate  measure  of,  l>ut  is  largely  in  excess  of  the 
actual  diminution  of  the  general  herd.''  (Report  of  1897,  p.  11.) 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  DECLINE. 

JOINT  AGREEMENT  OF  1892. 

At  the  joint  meeting'  of  American  and  British  investigators  in  1892,  preceding 
the  Paris  Arbitration,  an  agreement  Avas  reached  that  "  since  the  Alaska  purchase  a 
marked  diminution  in  the  number  of  seals"  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  had  taken  place, 
and  that  this  diminution  was  "the  result  of  excessive  killing  by  man."  But  when  an 
attempt  was  made  to  analyze  what  was  meant  by  "excessive  killing"  each  commission 
took  a  different  view.  The  commission  for  the  United  States  claimed  that  it  was  the 
slaughter  at  sea  of  female  seals  that  was  responsible;  the  commissioners  for  Great 
Britain  held  that  land  killing  was  chiefly,  if  not  wholly,  responsible. 

As  has  already  been  shown,  the  declhie  admitted  in  1892  has  continued  to  the 
present  time  and  is  still  going  on.  It  only  remains  for  us  now  to  locate  if  possible 
the  cause  of  the  decline,  to  distinguish  between  land  "and  pelagic  killing. 

NO  NATURAL  CAUSE  COMPETENT  TO  EXPLAIN  THE  DECLINE. 

It  may  be  remarked  at  the  outset  that  the  investigations  of  the  past  two  reasons 
have  brought  to  light  no  natural  cause  of  injury  to  the  herd  which  can  be  connected 
with  its  decline.  The  subject  of  mortality  among  the  fur  seals  is  discussed  in  detail 
in  Part  III  of  this  report.  It  is  only  necessary  here  to  say  that  among  the  adult  seals 
no  mortality  was  found  which  was  not  due,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  contests  among 
the  bulls,  or  to  rough  treatment  of  the  cows  by  the  bulls.  In  the  case  of  the  very 
young  pups  an  hitherto  unknown  but  apparently  customary  cause  of  death,  due  to  the 
ravages  of  a  parasitic  worm  infesting  crowded  and  sandy  breeding  areas,  was  found 
to  be  responsible  for  a  large  number  of  deaths.  In  the  case  of  very  young  pups  a 
certain  number  are  also  trampled  to  death  by  the  bulls.  The  number  dead  from  these 
causes  in  1896  as  counted  amounted  to  11,000.  Doubtless  a  considerable  number  were 
overlooked. 

NATURAL  CAUSES  OF  MORTALITY  CONSTANT. 

It  may  be  said,  however,  that  both  these  causes  of  death  are  as  old  as  the  herd 
itself,  and  were  more  active  when  the  herd  was  in  its  prime.  They  are  directly  related 
to  the  crowded  condition  of  the  rookeries  and  are,  therefore,  to-day,  at  a  minimum. 
The  photographs J  taken  by  the  British  commissioners  in  1891  and  1892  show  that  the 


1  A  photograph  taken  in  1891  by  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson  shows  a  part  of  the  sandy  northern  eud 
of  Tolstoi  rookery  thickly  strewn  with  dead  pups,  evidently  killed  by  the  worm.  The  photograph 
will  be  found  among  the  illustrations  hi  Appendix  III.  In  the  following  year  Mr.  Macoun  reports 
liuding  by  actual  count  4,000  dead  pnps  on  the  sand  Hat  of  this  rookery.  These  facts,  tending  to 
show  the  presence  of  breeding  seals  and  their  young  in  territory  far  beyond  the  present  confines  of 
Tolstoi  rookery,  are  also  valuable  as  proving  the  great  shrinkage  of  this  rookery  since  1891. 

115 


116  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

deaths  from  Uiicinaria  were  greater  then  in  proportion  as  the  herd  was  greater.  The 
whitened  bones  of  pups  on  Tolstoi  sands,  in  areas  not  occupied  in  1891,  show  plainly 
that  it  antedates  even  that  time,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  did  not  exist 
throughout  the  period  when  the  herd  was  in  its  prime.  It  was  probably  the  determining 
check  which  prevented  the  herd's  indefinite  increase.  We  may  infer  from  the  fighting 
and  struggling  of  the  limited  number  of  bulls  at  present  on  the  rookeries  that  in  a 
state  of  nature,  when  the  males  were  practically  equal  to  the  females,  the  destruction 
from  such  fighting  among  all  classes  of  seals  must  have  been  enormous. 

THE  REAL  CAUSE  OF  DECLINE  AN  ARTIFICIAL  ONE. 

We  may  therefore  assume  that  the  cause  or  causes  which  have  lead  to  the  decline 
of  the  herd  are  not  inherent  in  the  herd  itself.  In  short,  we  may  come  at  once  to  the 
conclusion  arrived  at  in  1892  that  interference  by  man,  and  that  alone,  is  chargeable 
with  the  decline. 

LAND  AND  SEA   KILLING. 

There  are  two  ways  and  two  only  by  which  the  acts  of  man  have  come  to  affect 
the  fur-seal  herd.  These  are  (1)  by  killing  on  laud,  which  has  been  practiced  ever 
since  the  islands  were  discovered  in  1786,  and  for  the  last  half  century,  at  least, 
without  change;  and  (2)  killing  at  sea,  which  has  been  practiced  to  a  limited  extent 
by  the  Indians  off  the  west  coast  of  America  from  a  very  early  date,  but  which  since 
about  1880  has  been  greatly  extended  by  the  introduction  of  sailing  vessels  under 
the  management  and  direction  of  white  men.  We  may  consider  first  the  operations 
of  land  killing  and  their  effect  on  the  herd. 

A.    LAND  KILLING— ITS  METHODS. 
ANIMALS  KILLED. 

Land  killing  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  has  since  about  the  year  1835  been  confined 
strictly  to  the  removal  of  a  definite  number  of  young  males,  chiefly  3-year-olds, 
with  occasional  "long"  2-year-olds  and  "short"  4-year-olds,  which  approximate  the 
3-year-olds  in  size.  At  times  the  average  size  of  seals  killed  has  varied  from  this 
standard,  leaning  to  the  larger  seals  and  again  to  the  smaller  animals,  as  the  demands 
of  the  market  or  the  condition  of  the  hauling  grounds  have  dictated. 

KILLING  SEASON. 

- 

The  regular  killing  season  on  the  islands  lies  between  the  1st  of  June  and  the  1st 
of  August.  During  the  period  from  about  the  middle  of  August  until  about  the 
middle  of  October  the  skins  of  the  seals  are  not  in  prime  condition,  being  stagy,  as 
it  is  called,  owing  to  the  shedding  of  the  hair.  After  the  middle  of  October  killing  is 
resumed  to  a  limited  extent  to  furnish  meat  for  the  natives.  In  like  manner  the  seals 
are  killed  for  food  as  soon  as  they  arrive  in  the  spring,  usually  early  in  May.  These 
food  skins  are  accepted  as  part  of  the  quota  and  are  included  with  those  taken  in  the 
regular  killing  season. 

THE  DRIVING   OF   THE   SEALS. 

The  young  bachelor  seals,  which  are  the  class  taken  for  their  skins,  haul  out  on 
the  sand  beaches  or  in  the  rear  of  the  rookeries  and  at  a  distance  from  them.  In  the 


A  DRIVE  FROM  THE  REEF.  117 

early  morning  the  natives  visit  such  hauling  grounds  as  have  been  selected,  and, 
surrounding  the  animals,  drive  them  inland  to  the  point  where  they  may  conveniently 
be  slaughtered.  As  illustrating  this  process  of  driving,  we  may  quote  the  following 
record  taken  from  the  field  notes  of  the  commission : 

THE   DRIVE. 

The  drive  from  Gorbatch  ami  Reef  rookeries  this  morning  (Jnly  15)  was  witnessed  by  Dr.  Jordan, 
Professor  Thompson,  Dr.  Stejneger,  Mr.  Lucas,  and  Mr.  Clark.  Captain  Moser  and  Lieutenant  Garrett, 
of  the  Albatross,  were  also  present.  Mr.  Crowley,  Treasury  agent,  conducted  the  movements  of  the 
visitors.  Fifteen  Aleuts  made  np  the  driving  party. 

We  left  the  village  at  2  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  was  then  light  enough  to  make  one's  way 
without  difficulty.  After  a  few  minutes'  walk  we  reached  Zoltoi  sands,  a  beach  about  one-fourth  of 
a  mile  from  the  village,  at  the  angle  of  which  the  bachelors  from  Gorbatch  rookery  haul  out  to  reach 
the  rocky  slope  above.  The  drivers  ran  in  quickly  between  the  seals  and  the  sea  and  soon  had  the 
animals  rounded  up  in  a  large  pod.  From  a  similar  hauling  ground  on  the  shore  just  across  the  neck 
of  the  peninsula  another  pod  was  in  like  manner  rounded  up.  The  two  pods  combined  were  left  in 
charge  of  three  men  to  be  driven  across  the  sands  to  the  village  killing  ground  a  few  hundred  yards 
beyond. 

We  then  proceeded  to  the  extreme  point  of  the  Reef  peninsula.  The  hauling  ground  of  Reef 
rookery  lies  in  the  rear  of  the  breeding  ground  and  has  four  well- marked  runways  connecting  it  with 
the  sea,  on  which  no  harems  are  located.  A  line  of  idle  bulls  keeps  clear  a  considerable  space  between 
the  hauling  ground  and  the  rookery.  From  the  head  of  the  various  runways  and  in  the  intervening 
space  poda  of  sleeping  bachelors  were  rounded  up,  the  Aleuts  passing  between  the  idle  bulls  and  the 
bachelors  and  turning  the  latter  up  the  bank  to  the  flat  parade  ground  back  of  the  hauling  ground. 
Here  the  pods  were  all  united  in  one  large  group  and  the  drive  started  on  its  way.  It  was  3  o'clock 
when  we  reached  the  point,  and  by  3.30  the  drive  was  in  motion. 

After  passing  over  a  short  space  of  ground,  scattered  at  wide  intervals  with  irregular  bowlders 
and  having  a  gentle  slope,  the  drive  came  into  the  level  grassy  plain  of  the  parade  ground.  Here  the 
herd,  which  numbered  about  1,500  bachelors,  Avas  separated  into  two  parts  for  greater  ease  and  safety 
in  driving.  While  one  pod  was  allowed  to  rest  the  other  was  driven  slowly  forward  in  the  direction 
of  the  village.  Three  men  were  now  assigned  to  each  pod,  and  the  rest  of  the  drivers  allowed  to 
return  to  the  village  to  make  ready  for  the  killing.  We  followed  the  first  herd. 

Over  the  green  turf  of  the  parade  ground  the  drive  moved  along  quietly  and  without  difficulty. 
The  drivers  took  their  positions  one  on  each  flank  to  repress  any  lateral  movements,  and  the  third 
brought  up  the  rear.  There  was  no  noise  or  confusion.  In  general  the  seals  were  allowed  to  take 
their  own  time  and  go  at  their  own  pace.  Those  in  the  advance  acted  as  leaders,  and  the  rest  of  the 
flock  followed  naturally  after  them.  At  the  beginning  the  seals  showed  some  reluctance  in  leaving 
their  hauling  grounds,  and  made  ineffectual  attempts  to  break  away.  Hut  after  the  drive  was  under 
way  they  moved  forward  apparently  as  a  matter  of  course.  When  the  lea'ders  showed  an  inclination 
to  take  the  wrong  course  the  men  on  the  flank  simply  stood  up  and  raised  a  hand,  which  was  sufficient 
to  turn  them  back  into  the  way.  For  the  most  part  the  men  kept  out  of  sight  of  the  seals. 

The  seals  on  the  drive  do  not  keep  up  a  continuous  motion.  They  take  ten  or  a  dozen  steps  and 
then  sit  down  like  dogs  to  rest  and  pant,  resuming  their  way  when  they  find  that  their  companions 
have  gone  on.  The  leaders  set  the  example,  and  as  they  are  rested  by  the  time  the  rear  members  of 
the  herd  have  come  to  a  standstill,  they  move  on  and  are  ready  to  stop  by  the  time  the  rear  guard 
have  started.  The  result  is  that  some  part  of  the  herd  is  moving  all  the  time  and  the  progression  is 
continuous. 

There  is  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  young  seals  to  go  faster  than  the  older  ones,  of  which 
a  large  number  were  included.  By  a  gradual  sifting  process  the  old  fellows  fell  to  the  rear,  and  on 
several  occasions  pods  of  from  a  dozen  to  tweuty  were  cut  oft' and  allowed  to  return  to  the  sea. 

All  the  seals  and  especially  the  larger  ones  showed  signs  of  fatigue.  They  appeared  to  be  hot 
and  excited,  and  a  cloud  of  steam  rose  constantly  from  the  luoving  animals.  This  steam  had  a  strong 
musky  smell.  When  the  herd  stopped,  individual  seals  would  often  sprawl  out  on  the  ground,  raising 
their  hind  flippers  and  waving  them  fan-like  evidently  in  an  effort  to  cool  off.  After  resting  a 


118  THE    FUR    SEALS    OP    THE    PBIBILOP    ISLANDS. 

moment  tlie  seals  were  ready  to  move  <>u  apparently  refreshed.  Continuous  exertion  is  evidently  hard 
on  them,  but  they  quickly  recover  from  exhaustion.  As  soon  as  the  flock  comes  to  rest  for  a  few 
moments'  breathing,  they  begin  to  bite  one  another  and  push  in  an  unconcerned  fashion  until  they  are 
reminded  by  the  absence  of  their  companions  that  they  must  keep  moving. 

The  seals  were  not  urged  forward,  but  were  allowed  to  take  their  own  time.  "When  the  herd 
was  brought  to  vest  for  a  few  minutes,  the  rear  driver  started  them  on  by  clapping  his  hands  or  by 
rattling  a  stick  on  a  rock.  Our  presence  evidently  urged  the  seals,  and  made  the  drive  really  harder 
than  it  would  ordinarily  have  been.  The  Aleuts  seem  to  have  a  way  of  handling  the  seals  that  they 
understand. 

A  short  distance  brought  us  to  the  end  of  the  grassy  plain  and  into  an  area  of  ground  filled  with 
embedded  bowldeis.  These  were  for  the  most  part  flat  and  worn  smooth.  It  looked  like  hard  ground 
for  the  seals,  but  in  reality  they  seem  to  get  over  it  better  than  the  flat  ground.  On  the  flat  there 
was  constant  crowding,  while  here  the  rocks  kept  the  seals  apart.  The  animals  are  really  more 
familiar  with  the  rocky  ground,  their  breeding  rookeries  with  few  exceptions  being  on  the  rocky 
beaches. 

After  passing  over  a  slight  ridge,  where  the  passageway  became  narrowed  by  projecting  cliffs  and 
where  there  was  a  good  deal  of  crowding  and  scrambling,  the  drive  left  the  bowlder-strewn  path  and 
passed  into  a  valley  overgrown  with  tall  Elymus  grass  and  lying  between  rows  of  sand  dunes  also 
grass-grown.  The  seals  seem  to  be  refreshed  by  the  moisture  of  the  grass,  which  was  wet  with  dew 
and  rain. 

This  grassy  plain  led  into  the  top  of  the  bowlder-set  slope  above  Zoltoi  sands,  from  wrhich  the 
earlier  seals  were  driven.  The  seals  passed  down  this  slope  without  difficulty  and  came  into  the  level 
sand  flat.  Here  the  first  really  hard  work  of  the  drive  began.  The  seals  seemed  to  find  their  greatest 
difficulty  in  walking  on  the  yielding  sand.  Their  flippers  take  hold  of  the  rocks  like  rubber,  but  slip 
back  in  the  sand.  No  rocks  prevented  the  animals  from  crowding.  They  stepped  on  each  other's 
flippers,  became  much  excited,  and  seemed  generally  worried. 

But  in  a  few  minutes  the  sands  were  passed  and  the  herd  emerged  into  the  grass-grown  killing 
ground.  As  soon  as  the  seals  came  to  a  standstill,  they  seemed  to  forget  their  troubles.  At  once 
they  began  biting,  snarling,  and  blowing  at  one  another  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  They 
were  then  turned  into  the  little  lake  beside  the  killing  ground  to  cool  off,  and  were  herded  up  on 
the  bank  to  rest  until  their  turn  came  to  be  killed. 

It  Avas  5  minutes  after  5  when  the  first  herd  reached  the  killing  ground.  The  second  arrived 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  afterwards,  having  taken  more  time  on  the  way. 

THE   KILLING. 

After  the  seals  have  sufficiently  rested  and  cooled  off  the  killing  is  begun.  The 
large  drove  of  animals  is  put  in  motion  in  the  direction  of  the  spot  where  the  killing 
is  to  begin.  Two  men  close  in  on  the  moving  animals  and  cut  off  a  small  pod  of  from 
twenty-five  to  fifty,  turning  the  main  body  back.  This  small  group  is  driven  up 
within  reach  of  a  number  of  men  armed  with  clubs.  These  "cull"  out  the  "killable" 
seals  (3-year-olds,  large  2-year  olds,  and  small  4-year-olds)  by  striking  them  on  the 
head,  allowing  the  noukillable  seals  (yearlings,  small  2-year-olds,  and  all  uwigged" 
seals)  to  escape  and  make  their  way  back  to  the  sea.  As  soon  as  one  pod  is  knocked 
down,  a  second  is  cut  out  and  driven  up.  This  process  is  continued  until  the  drove 
is  exhausted. 

THE   ALEUTS. 

The  operations  of  the  killing  ground  are  carried  out  by  the  Aleuts,  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  native  chief,  who  is  in  turn  subject  to  the  direction  of  the 
agent  of  the  lessees.  The  latter  supervises  the  clubbing  and  indicates  the  proper 
grade  of  animals  to  be  selected.  The  drives  are  authorized  by  the  agent  of  the 
Government,  and  he  is  required  to  be  present  on  the  killing  grounds  to  look  after  the 
interests  of  the  Government  as  the  owner  of  the  herd. 


OF  TBK 


tTNIVERSITT  } 

> 


•  «i  u>  • •  •  •  ' i  y 

r  "     OF   THH 

UNIVERSITY 
Jf 


EFFECTS    OF    LAND    KILLING.  119 

With  the  knocking  down  of  the  killable  seals  and  the  release  of  those  not  suitable, 
the  work  of  handling  the  seals  on  land  ceases  to  have  any  effect  on  the  life  of  the 
herd.  The  processes  of  taking  and  curing  the  skins  have  been  so  well  described  by 
Mr.  Elliott  and  others  that  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  redescribe  them,  but  for  the 
sake  of  completeness  a  brief  summary  may  be  given. 

SKINNING   THE   SEALS. 

As  the  animals  are  clubbed  they  are  stretched  out  in  order,  with  space  for  the 
skinners  to  work  about  them.  The  skull  of  the  fur  seal  is  its  weakest  point,  and  the 
blow  of  the  club  renders  the  animal  instantly  unconscious,  if  it  does  not  kill  it 
outright.  It  is  immediately  stuck  to  the  heart  with  a  knife,  which  serves  the  double 
purpose  of  insuring  death  and  bleeding  the  animal. 

THE   DIVISION   OF   LABOR   ON   THE   KILLING  FIELD. 

The  Aleuts,  by  whom  the  various  operations  are  carried  on,  follow  at  present  a 
systematic  division  of  labor,  working  in  four  sections,  the  operations  of  "clubbing," 
"sticking,"  "flippering,"  and  "skinning"  going  on  simultaneously.  The  clubbing  and 
skinning  are  done  by  the  most  skillful  and  experienced  of  the  men.  The  beginners  do 
the  sticking  and  nippering.  This  last  process  involves  the  cutting  of  the  skin  loose 
from  about  the  nose,  tail,  and  nippers,  and  slitting  it  through  the  median  line  of  the 
belly.  When  this  is  done  the  animal  passes  into  the  hands  of  the  skinner,  who 
removes  the  pelt  with  a  few  quick  strokes  of  the  knife,  spreading  it  out  flesh  side 
downward  on  the  grass  to  cool. 

THE   TREATMENT   OF   THE   SKINS. 

The  skins  are  gathered  up  in  wagons  and  counted  into  the  salt  house,  where  they 
are  salted  in  tiers,  with  the  flesh  side  up,  layers  of  salt  alternating  with  the  skins. 
After  lying  thus  for  five  or  six  days  they  are  taken  out  and  resalted  in  reverse  order. 
They  remain  in  this  salt  for  about  ten  days  or  two  weeks,  when  the  process  of  curing 
is  complete,  and  they  are  taken  out,  wrapped  in  neat  bundles,  each  containing  two 
skins,  and  tied  securely,  ready  for  shipment. 

The  skins  are  then  counted  into  the  bidara,  which  is  to  lighter  them  to  the  ship,  and 
are  counted  for  a  third  time  into  the  hold  of  the  vessel.  At  San  Francisco  they  are 
placed  in  casks  and  shipped  to  London,  where  they  are  dressed  and  dyed  and  finally 
distributed  to  be  manufactured  into  garments. 

THE    EFFECTS    OF    LAND    KILLING. 

Owing  to  the  polygamous  habit  of  the  fur  seals,  the  greater  part  of  the  male  life 
born  is  superfluous  for  breeding  purposes.  For  the  130,000  breeding  cows  found  on 
the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  islands  in  the  season  of  1897,  4,418  bulls  were 
adequate,  or  at  least  out  of  fully  10,000  adult  bulls  ready  and  willing  to  serve  harems, 
only  this  number  were  able  to  obtain  them.  Therefore  only  1  bull  in  30  is  absolutely 
necessary  under  present  conditions.  That  this  limit  could  be  materially  lowered 
without  positive  danger  to  the  herd  is  conclusively  shown  by  the  history  of  the 
Russian  herd  on  Bering  Island,  where  the  observations  of  the  past  three  years,  as 
detailed  by  Dr.  Stejneger,  show  that  a  male  fur  seal  is  capable  of  attending  to  the 
wants  of  between  100  and  200  cows. ' 


Ste  jaeger,  1'rel.  Report,  1897,  p.  11. 


120  THE    FUR    SEALS    OP    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

REMOVAL   OF   SUPERFLUOUS   MALE   LIFE   BENEFICIAL. 

Moreover,  the  removal  of  this  superfluous  male  life  is  not  only  possible,  but  is 
really  beneficial  to  the  herd.  As  already  indicated,  the  only  deaths  among  adult 
bulls  and  cows  discovered  upon  the  rookeries  of  the  islands  resulted  from  the  strug- 
gles of  the  bulls  among  themselves  or  to  obtain  possession  of  the  cows.  In  the  death 
of  young  pups  also  this  lighting  and  struggling  of  the  bulls  is  a  small  but  by  no  means 
insignificant  cause  of  loss.  In  18DG  the  great  early  mortality  among  nursing  pups  was 
wrongly  ascribed  to  the  trampling  of  the  fighting  bulls.  But  while  the  more  complete 
and  satisfactory  investigation  of  1897  shows  another  and  more  important  cause,  there 
still  remains  a  considerable  loss  from  this  source.  This  loss  is  now  insignificant 
compared  with  what  it  was  in  the  wild  state  of  the  herd.  When  the  number  of  adult 
males  and  females  was  practically  equal,  the  destruction  both  among  the  cows  and 
among  the  pups  must  have  been  enormous.  It  undoubtedly  rivaled  the  ravages  of 
the  worm  Uucinaria  in  its  destructive  work  and  combined  with  it  to  offset  the  natural 
increase  of  the  herd. 

POSSIBILITY  OF   OVERKILLING. 

While  as  a  general  principle  the  removal  of  these  superfluous  males  is  beneficial 
to  the  herd,  excessive  removal  would  undoubtedly  lead  to  disastrous  results.  The 
percentage  of  males  required  for  the  needs  of  propagation  is  small,  but  it  is  essential, 
and  if  reduced  too  low  or  cut  off  entirely  the  effect  must  be  injurious.  Such  excessive 
killing  would  be  felt  in  the  scarcity  of  bulls,  from  which  cause,  through  inadequate 
service,  the  usual  increase  of  pups  would  not  be  born  and  the  herd  must  ultimately 
begin  to  fail.  It  is  on  this  ground  that  land  killing  becomes  a  possible  source  of 
danger  to  the  herd. 

A  HYPOTHETICAL   CASE. 

To  understand  how  such  killing  would  act,  let  us  take  a  hypothetical  case.  If  in 
any  given  year  absolutely  every  3-year-old  male  was  killed  to  fill  the  quota,  this 
would  involve  the  absence  of  representatives  of  this  class  of  seals  from  the  reserve  of 
bulls  for  the  replenishment  of  the  rookeries  in  subsequent  years.  It  would  not  affect 
the  breeding  bulls,  nor  the  reserves  of  four,  five,  and  six  years.  These  latter  would 
supply  the  deficiency  in  the  breeding  stock  caused  by  old  age  for  at  least  ten  years,  and 
it  would  take  that  period  at  least  to  show  the  eftect  of  the  close  killing.  If  it  was 
not  repeated,  no  influence  would  be  felt.  The  7-year-old  bull  of  the  following  year 
would  simply  enter  the  rookeries  as  a  6-year-old. 

But  suppose  the  killing  was  continued  through  a  series  of  years,  every  3-year- 
old  being  killed,  the  reserve  would  in  time  be  cut  off  and  the  stock  of  breeding  bulls 
would  die  out.  It  is  impossible  to  say  how  long  it  would  take  to  produce  this  effect, 
because  we  do  not  know  the  length  of  the  life  of  the  bull.  We  may  infer,  however, 
that  it  is  not  less  than  fifteen  years,  and  therefore  the  injurious  effects  of  this  exces- 
sive killing  begun  in  any  given  year  and  continued  indefinitely  would  not  be  seen 
within  ten  years  at  least. 

This  is  only  a  hypothetical  case,  but  it  shows  what  is  meant  by  too  close  killing 
of  males  in  filling  the  quota.  The  killing  of  males,  which  would  produce  immediate 
and  disastrous  results,  must  strike  at  the  adult  males.  To  destroy  this  class  or  any 
considerable  number  of  them  would  at  once  weaken  the  herd.  But  there  would  be 
no  object  in  such  killing,  and  it  has  never  been  thought  of. 


NO    OVERKILLING    OF    MALES.  121 

SIGH   KILLING  NOT   PRACTICABLE. 

In  the  hypothetical  case  above  cited  we  have  supposed  that  every  male  of  a  given 
age  could  be  taken.  While  in  theory  this  is  possible,  in  practice  it  could  probably 
never  be  done.  There  are  certain  hauling  grounds,  such  as  Lagoon,  Zapadni  Head, 
Otter  Island,  iSivutch  liock,  and  Southwest  Point,  from  which  the  seals  are  not  and 
have  never  been  driven.  The  young  males  frequenting  these  are  left  undisturbed, 
and  it  is  safe  to  suppose  that  the  majority  of  them  pass  killable  age  before  the  sexual 
instinct  draws  them  to  the  vicinity  of  the  rookeries  from  which  seals  are  driven. 
Furthermore,  there  are  always  little  pods  of  bachelors  in  the  turns  and  corners  of  the 
rookeries  which  cither  can  not  be  reached  or  are  too  insignificant  in  number  to  be 
followed  up. 

OTTER   ISLAND    NOT   DRIVEN. 

Otter  Island,  one  of  these  hauling  grounds  from  which  seals  are  never  killed, 
must  have  been  a  source  of  reserve  male  life  throughout  the  history  of  the  herd. 
From  the  records  in  the  log  of  St.  Paul  of  the  days  when  a  guard  was  stationed 
there  to  prevent  raids,  we  know  that  anywhere  from  two  to  ten  thousand  bachelors  t>- 
hauled  out  there  regularly.  During  the  past  summer  at  least  1,000  young  males  were 
found  at  the  time  the  island  was  visited.  There  were  also  from  500  to  800  males  of 
this  sort  on  Sivutch  Eock  at  the  time  of  its  inspection  in  1897.  These  young  males 
are  not  disturbed,  and  from  these  hauling  grounds  alone  an  adequate  supply  of 
reserve  male  life  might  be  expected  to-day  if  none  whatever  escaped  otherwise.  In 
the  earlier  days  when  the  herd  was  larger  their  yield  was  also  larger. 

DEFECTIVE    SKINS. 

One  other  matter  in  this  connection  is  worth  mentioning.  From  the  killing  field 
at  every  killing  a  considerable  number  of  young  males,  otherwise  strong  and  vigorous, 
are  rejected  because  of  some  defect  in  the  skin,  chiefly  bites  or  scars  of  imperfectly 
healed  wounds.  These  males  go  to  swell  the  quota  of  reserve  male  life. 

OVERKILLING   OF   MALES   HAS   NOT   OCCURRED. 

So  far  we  have  considered  the  possibility  of  too  close  killing  of  males.  Let  us 
examine  the  facts  in  the  case.  At  the  time  the  herd  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
United  States  it  was  in  a  prosperous  condition,  probably  increasing,  and  it  main- 
tained a  maximum  condition  of  expansion  for  a  number  of  years.  We  need  therefore 
not  go  back  of  the  transfer  of  the  rookeries  to  the  United  States  in  considering  the 
causes  of  decline. 

From  the  year  1871  a  nominal  quota  of  100,000  male  seals  was  taken  each  year  to 
and  including  1889.  Since  1889  the  quota  has  fluctuated  as  a  result  of  various  causes. 
To  and  including  the  year  1890  there  were  killed,  in  addition  to  the  normal  quota  each 
year  for  food  for  the  natives,  from  3,000  to  5,000  male  pups.  There  was  further  a  large 
killing  of  males  for  food  in  the  stagy  season  and  of  animals  too  young  to  furnish 
skins  of  the  desired  grade  for  the  quota.  Since  1890  the  killing  of  pups  has  been 
stopped,  as  also  the  killing  of  stagy  seals. 


122 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


STATISTICS   OF   THE   QUOTA. 

The  annual  killing  of  male  life  on  the  fur-seal  islands  during  the  period  of  the 
first  lease  we  find  has  averaged  about  105,000  per  year.  The  following  table  gives 
the  total  killings  of  males  for  all  purposes  whatsoever  for  the  period  in  question : 

Land  killing,  1870-1889. 


Tear. 

Land 
killing. 

Year. 

Laud 
killing. 

T^ar. 

Land 
killing. 

Tear. 

Land 
killing. 

1870  
1871  

23,  773 
1  02,  9fiO 

1875  
1876  

106,460 
94,  657 

1880.     . 
1881 

105,718 
105  061! 

1885.       . 
1881) 

105.  024 
104  5''1 

1872 

108  819 

1877 

84  310 

1882 

99  81" 

1887 

105  760 

1873  

109,  177 

1878  

109,323 

1883. 

79  5119 

1888 

103  304 

1874 

110  585 

1879 

110  411 

1884 

105  434 

1889 

10''  617 

VOLUNTARY  REDUCTION  OF  QUOTA  IN  1876-77. 

From  an  examination  of  this  table  we  find  that  between  the  years  1871  and  1875, 
inclusive,  an  average  of  107,500  male  seals  were  annually  killed  on  the  islands.  In 
1876-77  this  average  was  reduced  to  88,500.  Some  question  had  been  raised  by  Cap- 
tain Bryant,1  then  agent  in  charge  of  the  islands,  as  to  the  effect  of  the  killing  of  this 
full  quota.  He  had  even  recommended  that  it  be  reduced.  This  may  have  influenced 
the  contraction  in  the  quota,  but  it  was  not  insisted  upou  by  the  Government  and  was 
voluntary  on  the  part  of  the  lessees.  The  fact  that  in  1878  killing  was  resumed  and 
continued  at  an  average  of  105,000  for  four  years  shows  clearly  enough  that  the  alarm 
about  the  quota  felt  by  Captain  Bryant  was  without  foundation.  The  temporary 
reduction  for  the  two  years  could  not  have  influenced  the  herd.  But  in  these  two 
years  we  have  a  right  to  assume  that  at  least  38,000  young  males  of  the  age  of  3 
years  were  allowed  to  escape  and  grow  up  as  an  addition  to  the  reserve  of  bulls. 

VOLUNTARY  REDUCTION  IN  1882-83. 

In  1882  and  1883  we  find  a  similar  reduction  to  88,700  of  the  quota  of  male  life 
from  the  preceding  average  of  105,000.  This  contraction  was,  as  we  know,  purely  vol- 
untary on  the  part  of  the  lessees  and  due  to  the  overstocked  condition  of  the  seal-skin 
market.  That  it  was  not  due  to  any  scarcity  of  seals  is  clearly  enough  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  killing  was  in  1884  resumed  and  continued  at  an  average  of  104,400  until 
the  year  1889. 

The  point  we  wish  to  make  clear  is  that  the  38,000  males  in  this  first  extraordinary 
reservation  made  in  1876-77,  3  years  old  at  the  time,  were  7  years  old,  or  ready  for 
harem  duty  in  1880-81,  and  10  years  of  age,  or  in  their  breeding  prime  in  1885-86, 
when  the  decline  in  the  herd  was  well  begun.  Likewise,  the  second  reservation  of 
32,800  young  bulls  was  ready  to  replenish  the  rookeries  in  1886-87,  and  they  were 
still  in  their  prime  in  1889  and  subsequent  years  when  the  decline  was  in  the  height. 

NO   DEARTH   OF   MALE   LIFE. 

That  the  young  male  life  represented  by  these  annual  killings  from  1871  to  1889 
should  have  been  produced  upon  these  rookeries  is  in  itself  abundant  proof  that 
there  was  no  dearth  of  breeding  males.  In  its  prime  25,000  bulls  were  ample  for  the 


1  See  extracts  from  the  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  June  10,  July  25,  August  4,  etc.,  1875. 


ANTICIPATION    OF    THE    QUOTA. 


123 


needs  of  the  beard.  By  the  extraordinary  reservations  of  male  life  which  we  have 
just  noted  more  than  sufficient  bulls  were  supplied  to  the  rookeries  from  and  after 
1880  to  meet  their  needs.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  regular  reservations  which 
were  made  from  year  to  year  and,  further,  in  addition  to  those  which  escaped  naturally 
on  hauling  grounds  not  driven. 

In  the  history  of  this  period,  as  recorded  in  the  log  of  St.  Paul  Island,  there  is 
nothing  to  show  that  the  breeding  grounds  were  not  amply  stocked  with  bulls,  and 
on  the  killing  grounds  systematic  provision  was  made  for  the  necessary  reserve  of 
male  life. 

KILLING   OF   MALES  NOT   A    FACTOR   IN   DECLINE. 

When  we  consider  all  these  things  in  connection  with  the  difficulties  which  we 
have  shown  to  stand  in  the  way  even  of  a  deliberate  attempt  to  kill  too  closely,  we 
believe  ourselves  fully  justified  in  asserting  that  land  killing  has  not,  through  too 
close  killing  of  the  males,  been  a  factor  in  the  decline  of  the  herd. 

PREMATURE   KILLING. 

It  remains  to  be  noted  that  there  is  another  class  of  close  killing  which,  while  it 
does  not  injuriously  affect  the  herd  as  a  whole,  produces  effects  which  are  unfortunate 
and  which  may  appear  to  be  harmful  although  they  are  not  so. 

We  have  said  that  from  1884  to  1889  an  average  of  104,400  male  seals  were  killed 
on  the  islands  each  year.  This  would  seem  to  indicate  a  normal  condition  of  the 
herd,  while  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  know  that  during  this  period  the  herd  was  rapidly 
declining,  and  the  immediate  drop  from  100,000  skins  in  1889  to  21,000  in  1890 
proves  it. 

ANTICIPATION   OF   QUOTA. 

To  understand  how  this  killing  could  be  thus  maintained  it  is  only  necessary  to 
remember  that  the  quota  of  killable,  or  nominally  3-year-old  seals,  is  culled  from  a  herd 
of  bachelors  which  contains  also  the  quota  of  two  subsequent  years  as  2-year-olds 
and  yearlings.  When  in  1885  the  killable  seals  began  to  gradually  become  scarce 
upon  the  hauling  grounds,  it  at  first  became  necessary  to  drive  ofteuer,  to  include 
more  hauling  grounds,  and  finally  to  increase  the  period  of  driving.  This  matter  can 
be  made  clear  by  the  following  table: 

Table  showing  date  of  filling  quota,  number  of  hauling  grounds  and  drives,  St.  Paul  Island. 


Year. 

Date 
quota 
filled.1 

Hauling 
grounds 
driven.2 

Number 
of 
drives.5 

1880                     

July  17 

78 

38 

1881   ,  

July  20 

99 

34 

1882  

July  20 

86 

36 

1883  

July  19 

81 

39 

1884  - 

July  21 

101 

42 

1885   

July  27 

106 

63 

1886  

Jul'y  26 

117 

74 

1887  

July  24 

101 

66 

1888  

Julv  27 

102 

73 

1889  

July  31 

110 

74 

1  Date  at  which  last  regular  drive  for  the  quota  was  made. 

''Several  hauling  grounds  are  included  in  a  single  drive;  as,  for  example,  Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  and  English  Bay  are 
regularly  included  in  one  drive. 


124  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE   KILLING   OF   UNDERSIZED   SEALS. 

For  a  time  these  more  vigorous  methods  Lad  the  desired  effect,  but  the  scarcity 
of  bachelors  as  a  result  of  the  decreasing  birth  rate  made  it  necessary  finally  to  lower 
the  age  for  killable  seals  so  as  to  include  first  the  2-year-olds  and  in  the  end  many 
of  the  larger  yearlings,1  in  order  to  secure  the  requisite  100,000  skins.  By  these 
methods  it  happened,  in  1889,  that  practically  the  whole  bachelor  herd  of  four  years 
and  under,  down  to  the  yearlings,  was  wiped  out.  The  result  was  the  abnormal  drop 
to  21,000  in  the  quota  of  1890. 

SUCH   KILLING  DID   NOT   INJURE   THE   HERD. 

It  is  evident,  however,  that  this  sort  of  killing  is  not  inimical  to  the  breeding  herd. 
It  simply  destroys  the  superfluous  bachelors  through  premature  killing.  It  is  an 
anticipation  in  the  quota  of  one  year  of  the  product  of  the  next.  That  even  the  close 
killing  of  1889  did  not  endanger  the  herd  is  clearly  shown  in  that  it  was  possible  to 
secure,  in  1890,  21,000  seals  of  killable  age.  This  fact  alone  shows  that  in  the  nature 
of  things  it  is  impossible  to  get  all  the  males  of  a  certain  age  in  any  given  year. 
That  there  were  21,000  seals  which  were  of  killable  age  in  1890  may  be  taken  as 
showing,  indirectly  at  least,  that,  in  like  manner,  other  older  bachelors  escaped,  which, 
in  the  interval  between  1889  and  1890,  had  passed  to  the  "wigged"  stage,  where 
they  were  no  longer  suitable  for  the  quota.  Of  this  class  Mr.  Elliott  records  in  his 
1890  report  the  turning  back  of  1,112  from  a  part  of  the  killings  of  that  year. 

PREMATURE   KILLING  WASTEFUL,   BUT   NOT   INJURIOUS. 

It  is  not  the  intention  here  to  justify  the  methods  of  killing  employed  in  the 
closing  years  of  the  lease  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company.  Such  killing  ought 
never  to  have  been  allowed.  It  would  not  have  occurred  had  not  the  termination  of 
the  lease  been  approaching,  as  it  would  have  been  wholly  against  the  interest  of  the 
lessees.  But  it  is  not  conceivable  that  such  killing  could  ever  aft'ect  the  life  of  the 
herd,  as  it  would  necessarily  bring  to  ruin  the  business  of  taking  seal  skins  on  land 
long  before  it  could  produce  any  effect  on  the  breeding  herd. 

KILLING   OF   PUPS   WASTEFUL. 

Nor  can  the  wasteful  practice  of  killing  pups  for  food  and  killing  seals  when 
stagy,  which  unnecessarily  augmented  the  draft  on  the  male  life  of  the  herd,  be 
passed  over  without  condemnation.  The  magnitude  of  this  waste  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  synopsis  taken  from  the  records : 2 

Seals  killed  whose  skins  were  wasted,  1871-1S90. 

Pups  (for  food) 95,  628 

Food  skins  (rejected) 27,  790 

Bachelor  skins  (rejected) 30,  798 


Total 154,216 


1  Letter  of  Dr.  Mclutyre,  Senate  Doc.  137,  Pt.  I,  p.  345. 
See  Appendix  I. 


METHODS    ON    THE    COMMANDER    ISLANDS.  125 

ABSENCE    OF    INJURY    TO    THE    HERD. 

This  condemnation,  however,  must  rest  solely  on  the  basis  of  the  waste  involved. 
It  resulted  in  no  injury  to  the  herd  because  there  were  still  enough  males,  and  to 
spare.  In  spite  of  the  unnecessary  draft  on  its  male  life,  and  in  spite  of  the  prema- 
ture gathering  of  its  product  in  the  closing  years  of  the  old  lease,  the  male  life  needed 
for  the  breeding  herd  never  failed.  The  breeding  grounds  are  to-day  grossly  over- 
stocked with  adult  breeding  bulls  which  can  not  be  less  than  8  years  of  age,  and 
many  of  them  must  be  older,  their  birth  dating  from  the  very  period  when  the  closest 
killing  took  place.  In  addition  to  these  the  rookeries  are  being  flooded  by  a  swarm 
of  younger  bulls  as  a  result  of  the  partial  suspension  of  killing  under  the  modus  vivendi 
of  1891-93. 

METHODS   ON   THE   COMMANDER   ISLANDS. 

Over  the  whole  subject  of  land  killing,  as  conducted  on  the  Pribilof  Islands,  a  flood 
of  light  is  thrown  by  a  comparison  with  the  methods  in  vogue  on  the  Commander 
Islands.  On  Bering  Island,  for  some  years  past,  no  killable  bachelors  have  been  spared, 
and  the  proportionate  number  of  bulls  is  very  far  below  what  it  has  been  under  the 
closest  killing  on  St.  Paul  and  St.  George.  On  Poludinnoye  (South)  rookery,  Bering 
Island,  for  example,  there  were  in  1895  five  bulls,  in  189G  three  bulls,  for  between  500 
and  1,000  females.  Yet  this  number,  assisted,  doubtless,  by  immature  bulls,  has  been 
shown  to  be  entirely  adequate  for  the  impregnation  of  all  the  females.  According  to 
Mr.  Barrett-Hamilton  of  the  British  commission,  so  far  as  could  be  seen,  every  cow  on 
this  rookery  had  a  pup  in  1896.  This  observation  was  confirmed  by  Dr.  Stejneger  and 
Captain  Moser,  who  visited  the  rookery  at  about  the  same  time. 

DR.  STEJNEGER'S   OBSERVATIONS. 

In  his  report  for  1895,1  Dr.  Stejneger  observes: 

On  that  rookery  (Poludinnoye)  the  disproportion  between  the  two  sexes  was  excessive  in  1895. 
According  to  reliable  information,  the  number  of  bulls  on  the  whole  rookery  did  not  exceed  five. 
Judging  from  what  I  saw  of  this  rookery  during  two  visits,  I  should  place  the  number  of  breeding 
females  at  about  600,  possibly  only  500. 2  It  would  be  a  comparatively  easy  matter  to  observe  this 
year  (1896)  whether  the  number  of  pups  born  be  very  markedly  small  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
females  hauling  out. 

THE   DEARTH   OF   MALE   LIFE   ON   BERING  ISLAND. 

For  the  three  bulls  which  had  charge  of  the  600  or  more  cows  on  South  rookery, 
Bering  Island,  in  1896,  Dr.  Stejneger  found  in  1897,  by  actual  count,  526  pups. 
Considering  the  proportion  of  seals  which  must  have  died  during  the  winter  of  old  age, 
and  those  which  were  taken  by  pelagic  sealers,  this  birth  rate  shows  clearly  enough 
the  capacity  of  the  three  bulls.  For  this  rookery,  which  in  1897  contained  at  least 
526  cows,  there  were  but  two  adult  bulls  and  a  young  half  bull. 

Such  reckless  killing  as  that  practiced  on  the  Commander  rookeries  is  by  no  means 
to  be  commended  nor  to  be  imitated,  but  in  the  face  of  the  absence  of  injurious  results 
from  it,  it  becomes  impossible  to  charge  against  the  more  moderate  and  conservative 
killing  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  any  share  of  responsibility  for  the  decline  of  the  herd 
breeding  upon  their  shores. 

1  Russian  Fur  Seal  Islands,  1895,  p.  64. 

2  Dr.  Stejneger's  estimate  of  500  to  600  cows  was  made  under  the  supposition  that  the  cows  seen 
on  the  rookery  represented  practically  all  belonging  to  it.     It  was  not  until  1896  that  it  was  discovered 
that  not  over  half  the  cows  are  present  at  one  time. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE  THEORY  OF  OVERDRIVING. 

DRIVING   AND    ITS    SUPPOSED    RESULTS. 

From  tbe  foregoing  it  must  be  clear  that  land  killing  has  never  produced  a  scarcity 
of  male  life  for  breeding  purposes,  and  has  not  therefore  been  a  factor  in  the  decline 
of  the  herd.  This  would  naturally  end  the  matter,  were  it  not  for  the  prominence 
which  certain  absurd  theories  have  received.  These  we  must  consider  in  some  detail. 

It  is  to  Mr.  Henry  W.  Elliott,  who  was  sent  in  1890  to  investigate  the  condition 
of  the  fur-seal  herd,  that  we  are  indebted  for  the  theory  that  overdriving  is  a  cause  of 
injury  to  the  herd.  In  his  report  Mr.  Elliott  has  elaborated  this  theory  at  great 
length.  It  is  plainly  not  the  outgrowth  of  his  investigations,  but  their  guiding 
hypothesis  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

Mr.  Elliott,  instead  of  seeking  in  the  breeding  herd  the  cause  of  its  decline, 
impressed  by  the  great  diminution  of  the  bachelor  herds,  confined  his  attention  solely 
to  them.  The  condition  of  this  class  of  animals  is  only  an  incident  to  the  life  of 
the  herd.  The  causes  affecting  it  necessarily  originate  in  the  breeding  herd. 

He  found,  what  is  undoubtedly  true  and  has  been  from  the  first,  that  the  young 
males  began  a  course  of  driving  from  the  hauling  grounds  to  the  killing  grounds  at 
the  age  of  1  year.  They  were  rejected  because  too  small.  Tbe  following  year  they 
appeared  in  the  drives  again  as  2-year-olds,  and  were  again  rejected  for  the  same 
reason.  In  the  third  year  they  were,  so  far  as  driven,  killed.  The  fourth  and 
subsequent  years  found  those  which  escaped  as  3-year-olds  unsuitable  for  killing  on 
account  of  the  incipient  wig,  and  they  were  accordingly  again  rejected,  as  certainly 
as  they  appeared  in  the  drives. 

This  course  of  driving  resulted,  according  to  Mr.  Elliott,  in  the  death  of  practically 
all  the  animals  released,  or  else  the  impairment  of  virility  in  those  which  survived. 
The  only  recruits  which  the  breeding  males  received  therefore  was  an  insignificant 
number  of  debilitated  males,  whose  sexual  powers  were  lost.  In  this  way  the  herd 
had  been  destroyed.  This,  in  brief,  is  the  theory  of  overdriving. 

THE    PROCESS    OF    DRIVING. 

Let  us  examine  for  a  moment  this  process  of  driving  and  the  animal  which  has 
to  undergo  it.  As  we  know,  very  few  of  the  yearlings  get  into  the  drives  till  after 
the  middle  of  July,  when  the  sealing  season  is  nearly  over;  therefore,  not  many  of 
the  seals  are  driven  at  this  age.  In  the  second  and  subsequent  years  they  come 
earlier  and  are  driven  more  frequently.  The  seals  on  each  hauling  ground  are 
gathered  up  about  six  times  in  a  season;  but  as  in  each  drive  new  killable  seals 
are  found  which  certainly  have  not  been  driven  before  during  the  season  in  question, 
we  may  assume  that  the  rejected  seals  themselves  are  not  all  driven  each  time.  In 
fact,  we  must  assume  that  in  the  years  immediately  subsequent  to  1890  the  seals  of 
the  age  of  3  years  that  escaped  to  grow  up  were  not  driven  at  all ;  otherwise  they 
could  not  have  survived. 

126 


ALLEGED    EVILS   OF    DRIVING.  127 

THE    ANIMAL   DRIVEN. 

If  we  suppose  that  auy  rejected  seal  is  driven  fifteen  times  in  five  years  we 
have  made  a  liberal  estimate.  This  means  an  average  of  15  miles  of  land  travel  for 
eacli  animal,  for  the  drives  on  the  islands  do  not  average  more  than  a  mile  in  length. 
The  seals,  as  we  have  already  seen  in  the  description  of  the  drive,  are  allowed  to  take 
their  own  time  and  rest  frequently  on  the  journey.  The  animal,  moreover,  is  not  ill 
adapted  to  land  travel.  It  is  not  a  fish,  but  a  bear  which  has  become  adapted  to  life 
in  the  water.  It  can  and  does  voluntarily  climb  cliffs  which  a.  man  would  find 
difficulty  in  scaling.  It  makes  considerable  journeys  of  its  own  accord.  When  on 
its  hauling  grounds,  it  is  constantly  in  motion,  pitted  against  its  fellows  in  contests 
requiring  violent  exertion.  On  its  migrations  it  is  capable  of  swimming  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  miles  and  buffeting  the  storms  of  an  unusually  tempestuous  sea. 
Such  is  the  animal  which  is  supposed  to  be  fatally,  or  at  least  permanently,  injured 
by  an  average  of  3  miles  of  laud  travel  annually  in  five  years.  The  conclusion  is 
preposterous. 

THE  THEORY  INTANGIBLE. 

When  we  come  to  scrutinize  Mr.  Elliott's  theory,  we  can  not  find  a  tangible  bit  of 
evidence  to  support  it.  There  was  no  dearth  of  bulls  in  1890.  He  found  12,000  bulls 
on  the  rookeries,  with  more  to  spare  idle  on  the  sand  beaches.  This  was  a  number 
entirely  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  herd.  The  presence  of  idle  bulls  showed  there 
were  more  than  enough.  It  is  true  he  asserts  that  the  bulls  were  impotent.  Why 
they  should  seek  the  rookeries  in  this  condition  is  not  explained.  Furthermore,  Mr. 
Elliott  has  not,  in  support  of  this  charge  of  impotency,  recorded  the  dissection  of  a 
single  animal,  the  only  way  by  which  the  fact  of  impotency  could  be  ascertained. 

Mr.  Elliott  declares  that  no  fresh  male  life  existed  in  reserve  to  replenish  this 
wornout  stock.  In  the  face  of  this  statement  he  records,  however,  in  his  data  for  the 
killings  he  witnessed,  the  rejection  of  more  than  1,100  young  half  bulls,  which  are 
just  the  class  he  says  does  not  exist.  He  lays  great  stress  upon  the  strain  and 
exertion  which  the  few  miles  of  land  travel  produces  in  the  driven  seal,  and  asserts 
that  practically  none  of  them  survive  it.  Of  the  thousands  rejected  under  his  eyes 
on  the  killing  grounds  in  1890,  he  records  but  a  single  instance  of  death  resulting 
from  this  cause,  and  inasmuch  as  no  autopsy  examination  is  recorded,  we  have  only 
his  opinion  in  the  matter  and  must  dissent  from  it. 

When  we  attempt  to  fit  this  theory  of  overdriving  to  the  conditions  during  the 
period  prior  to  1890,  we  meet  with  no  great  success.  That  the  driving  in  these  years 
did  not  kill  the  2  and  1  year  old  animals  driven  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  these 
seals  appeared  each  year  as  3-year  olds  to  be  driven.  From  the  younger  males  so 
released  each  year  and  from  these  alone  could  the  killable  seals  of  subsequent  years 
come.  That  the  bulls  serving  the  rookeries  in  these  years  were  not  impotent  is  shown 
by  the  number  of  young1  males  which  the  hauling  grounds  were  able  to  supply.  The 
thousands  of  yearlings  which  he  has  recorded  as  turned  back  from  the  killing  grounds 
in  1890  show  clearly  enough  that  the  bulls  were  not  impotent  in  1888.  Subsequent 
events  show  ;is  clearly  that  the  bulls  he  saw  in  1890  were  not  impotent. 

ITS  LOGICAL  CONCLUSION. 

This  contention  as  to  the  effects  of  overdriving,  pushed  to  its  logical  conclusion, 
means  that  animals  are  killed  by  it  which  persist  in  appearing  afterwards  distinctly 


128  THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

alive;  others  are  rendered  impotent  which  are  yet  able  to  fill  the  rookeries  with  pups. 
The  whole  matter  is  too  absurd  for  serious  consideration,  and  might  be  passed  by 
with  the  silent  contempt  it  deserves  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  it  was  accepted 
by  the  British  commissioners  in  1891  and  made  the  chief  foundation  of  the  British 
contention  before  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration. 

In  view  of  this  fact,  it  has  seemed  necessary  to  give  more  attention  to  the  theory 
than  it  deserves. 

THE  DRIVES  AND  DRIVEWAYS. 

As  other  effects  than  those  contemplated  by  Mr.  Elliott's  theory,  for  example,  the 
driving  of  the  animals  away  from  their  breeding  haunts,  the  stampeding  of  the 
breeding  rookeries,  etc.,  have  been,  associated  with  the  methods  of  handling  the  seals 
on  land,  it  will  be  useful  for  us  to  consider  the  subject  in  detail  as  it  came  under  our 
observation  during  the  past  two  seasons.  We  have  already  given  an  account  of  the 
process  of  driving. 

At  the  outset  it  is  well  to  contrast  the  driving  of  the  present  time  with  that  of 
the  past. 

THE  RUSSIAN  DRIVES. 

Iii  the  early  Eussian  days  the  drives  were  all  long  and  tedious.  On  St.  Paul, 
everything  was  brought  to  the  village,  at  the  extreme  southern  end  of  the  island. 
Thus  the  seals  from  Northeast  Point  had  to  travel  a  distance  of  about  12  miles;  those 
from  Polovina  and  Zapadni,  respectively,  5  and  6  miles.  On  St.  George  Island  the 
seals  were  driven  over  the  rocky  ridge  from  Zapadni,  a  distance  of  about  6  miles. 

Days  and  nights  were  occupied  in  these  long  drives.  The  seals  were  allowed  to 
take  their  own  time,  resting  frequently,  the  natives  watching  and  guarding  them  in 
relays.  Of  the  time  taken  by  the  drives  from  Northeast  Point  in  the  Eussian  days 
we  have  no  record,  but  in  the  year  1888,  in  January,  according  to  the  log  of  St.  Paul 
Island,1  a  food  drive  of  500  seals  was  made  to  the  village  from  this  point,  and  it 
gives  us  some  idea  of  what  such  a  drive  meant. 

THE  DRIVE  FROM  NORTHEAST  POINT. 

The  seals  were  driven  in  in  two  sections,  the  time  on  the  road  being,  respectively, 
eighty-two  and  one  hundred  hours.  No  deaths  are  reported  to  have  occurred.  The 
instructions  to  the  men  were  to  be  "careful  and  go  slow,  if  it  took  a  week,  and  to  kill 
and  bring  in  all  that  perished  on  the  way."  The  seals  are  reported  as  arriving  in 
good  condition.  Drives  of  sea  lions  have  in  recent  years  also  been  brought  from 
Northeast  Point  to  the  village. 

THE  AMERICAN  DRIVES. 

Under  American  control  the  long  drives  were  done  away  with.  Salt  houses  were 
established  at  Northeast  Point,  at  Polovina,  at  Zapadni  of  St.  Paul,  and  one  had 
already  been  established  at  Zapadni  of  St.  George  in  1868.  The  seals  on  these 
rookeries  are  to  day  killed  near  the  hauling  grounds,  and  their  skins  are  salted  and 
cared  for  there.  From  Northeast  Point  the  skins  are  loaded  directly  on  the  vessel. 
From  Zapadni  of  St.  George  they  are  packed  across  the  island  by  the  natives  on  their 
backs. 

1  See  extracts  from  the  log,  Pt.  II,  date  of  January  20, 1888. 


CHARACTER    OF    THE    REEF    DRIVEWAY.  129 

THE  DRIVES  GREATLY  SHORTENED. 

The  drives  have  been  still  further  shortened  by  the  location  of  new  killing  grounds 
still  nearer  to  the  rookeries,  and  to-day  the  longest  drive  on  St.  Paul  is  not  over  a 
mile  in  length,  while  several  are  less  than  half  a  mile.  On  St.  George,  except  in  the 
case  of  Zapadni,  the  drives  are  the  same  as  in  the  old  days,  everything  being  brought 
to  the  village.  Xorth  rookery,  however,  is  within  half  a  mile  of  the  village  killing 
ground,  and  this  is  the  largest  of  the  rookeries.  From  Staraya  Artel  and  from  East 
rookeries  the  drives  follow  a  course  upward  of  2^  miles  in  length  in  opposite  directions 
from  the  village.  On  these  driveways  there  are  marshy  places  and  occasional  ponds 
of  fresh  water  in  which  the  seals  are  allowed  to  cool  off.  These  drives,  therefore, 
though  long,  are  easier  than  shorter  drives  would  be  under  ordinary  conditions. 

REEF  DRIVEWAY. 

The  Eeef  drive  on  St.  Paul,  though  only  about  a  mile  in  length,  is  in  fact  the 
hardest  of  the  drives.  It  contains  all  the  different  conditions  to  be  met  with  on  any 
of  the  drives,  and  therefore  a  detailed  description  of  its  course  will  answer  for  the  rest. 

Keef  drive  begins  at  the  very  point  of  Eeef  peninsula.  The  hauling  ground  of 
Eeef  rookery  lies  in  the  rear  of  the  central  portion  of  the  breeding  ground  in  a  hollow 
between  two  rocky  ridges,  one  dividing  it  from  the  rookery  itself  and  the  other 
leading  up  to  the  flat  ground  of  the  "parade  ground."  The  hauling  ground  has 
four  runways  connecting  it  with  the  sea.  From  the  heads  of  these  runways  and 
from  the  central  portion  of  the  hauling  ground  the  straggling  bands  of  bachelors  are 
gathered  up  and  driven  to  the  flat  of  the  parade  ground  above.  Here  on  the  level 
the  different  groups  are  united  in  one  great  pod. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROUTE. 

After  the  drive  is  formed  the  first  90  yards  of  its  course  lies  over  practically  level 
ground,  sloping  very  gradually  toward  the  east,  the  direction  to  be  taken.  Toward 
the  end  of  this  first  section  the  ground  becomes  strewn  with  large  bowlders,  suffi- 
ciently far  apart,  however,  to  offer  no  obstructions  to  the  seals. 

The  course  then  leads  out  into  a  level,  grassy  plain,  325  yards  in  length,  with  a 
scarcely  perceptible  slope  to  the  east.  The  ground  is  level,  free  from  stones,  and  the 
damp  seal  grass  makes  going  easy.  In  this  plain  the  larger  drove  of  seals  is  usually 
divided  into  two  smaller  ones  for  convenience  in  driving. 

Beyond  the  grassy  plain  is  a  bowlder-covered  area,  the  rocks  imbedded  in  the 
soil,  flat  and  worn  smooth.  This  area  was  once  hauling  ground,  perhaps  breeding 
territory  in  -the  palmy  days  of  "the  herd.  Between  the  stones  are  patches  of  yellow 
seal  grass.  At  the  ridge,  about  midway  in  this  rocky  stretch,  the  course  is  narrowed 
by  piles  of  rocks,  traces  of  the  original  cliff  which  formed  the  ridge.  In  this 
narrowed  passage  there  is  a  tendency  to  crowd,  due  to  the  desire  of  the  seals  to  go 
in  a  mass  wherever  they  go.  The  whole  length  of  this  rocky  area  is  about  262  yards. 

From  the  rocks  the  driveway  leads  up  a  gentle  sand  slope  to  a  plain  lying  between 
two  rows  of  grass-grown  sand  dunes.     This  plain  is  400  yards  in  length  and  furnishes 
very  easy  going  for  the  seals.     Its  surface  is  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  rye 
grass,  which  is  always  wet  with  rain  or  dew,  and  serves  to  cool  off  the  seals. 
15184 9 


130  THE   FUR   SEALS    OF    THE    PKIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

At  the  end  of  the  grassy  plain  the  course  drops  down  over  a  short  ledge  of  rocks, 
some  3  feet  in  height,  to  a  bowlder-covered  area  of  about  200  yards  in  extent.  This 
area  at  first  level  falls  in  a  gentle  slope  at  the  end  to  the  level  of  Zoltoi  sands.  The 
bowlders  are  large,  smooth,  and  tiat,  and  the  interspaces  are  filled  with  lava  sand. 

Along  the  400  yards  of  level  sand  beach  is  the  hardest  part  of  the  drive.  The 
seals  slip  and  sink  in  the  loose  sand.  They  do  not  mind  the  rocky  and  grass-grown 
areas,  but  the  sand  worries  them.  This  sandy  area  leads  by  a  narrow  passage,  lined 
on  either  side  by  sand  dunes,  to  the  grassy  plain  between  East  Landing  and  the  little 
pond  at  the  foot  of  the  village.  This  is  the  village  killing  ground. 

THE  LENGTH  OF  THE  DRIVE. 

The  total  length  of  Reef  drive  as  paced  off  is  about  5,031  feet.  Its  greatest 
elevation  is  not  over  75  feet,  and  the  slopes  are  very  gentle.  The  drive  is  usually 
made  in  about  two  hours.  In  the  preceding  pages  is  given  a  detailed  account  of  a 
drive  over  this  course  witnessed  on  July  15. 

On  none  of  the  other  drives  of  Pribilof  Islands  are  there  rocky  areas  such  as 
those  described  on  the  Keef.  On  Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  are  short  stretches  of  sand, 
but  they  are  of  limited  extent.  With  these  exceptions,  the  driveways  on  St.  Paul 
are  comparatively  level  and  grassy  throughout.  The  same  is  true  for  the  long  drives 
of  St.  George. 

COMPARISON  OF  DRIVES. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  contrast  this  drive  from  Keef,  the  longest  and  hardest  on 
St.  Paul  Island,  though  less  than  a  mile  in  length,  with  the  12  miles  which  the  seals 
were  forced  to  travel  from  Northeast  Point  in  Russian  times,  or  with  the  5  and  6  miles 
of  travel  from  Zapadni  aud  Polovina  of  St.  Paul,  and  Zapadni  of  St.  George.  That 
no  injury  resulted  to  the  seals  from  these  early  drives  is  clear  from  the  condition  in 
which  the  herd  was  when  it  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States. 

THE  COMMANDER  DRIVEWAYS. 

To  appreciate  the  ease  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  drives  it  is  only  necessary  to 
contrast  them  with  those  of  the  Commander  Islands.  The  following  description  of 
the  driveways  of  Medui  Island  is  quoted  from  Dr.  Jordan's  record  in  the  Journal  for 
August  25,  1890: 

Zapadni  driveway.— The  drive  from  Zapadni  goes  up  from  the  stony  beach  between  two  towers  of 
rocks,  climbing  the  gorge  of  a  little  brook  which  cuts  into  the  bowlders  and  clay  of  the  hillside,  an 
excessively  hard,  rough  little  gully,  very  difficult  for  a  man  to  climb,  there  being  small  cascades  and 
wet  clay  in  its  course.  The  way  is  marked  by  road  skeletons.  After  au  ascent  over  ground  of  this  sort 
for  300  or  400  feet,  more  or  less,  the  drive  goes  up  through  steep,  grassy  slopes,  some  of  them  of  soft 
clay,  somewhat  cut  into  rough  steps  by  men's  boots.  The  general  character  of  the  ground  is  unre- 
lieved, although  more  or  less  broken  by  cross  gullies  and  ridges.  The  final  ridge  is  760  feet  above  the 
sea.  On  the  Glinka  side  is  a  long  slope,  at  first  quite  steep,  everywhere  grassy,  and  rather  easy,  but 
marked  with  road  skeletons,  as  it  is  very  long.  The  rye  grass  grows  rather  longer  below,  and  a  little 
stream  has  deep  depressions,  which  serve  as  death  traps,  as  the  skeletons  show,  when  the  seals  fail 
in  piles  one  over  another.  Above  Glinka  is  a  steep  slide  of  yellow  clay,  from  which  the  village  is  said 
to  have  received  its  name.  This  slide  must  be  a  hard  place  for  the  seals.  The  seals  (few  in  number) 
that  are  released  because  too  young  or  too  old  are  allowed  to  go  down  to  the  .sea,  whence  they  go  back 
to  the  west  again. 


THE    PALATA   DRIVEWAY.  131 

Palata  driveivay. — The  drive  from  Palata  is  iiow  rarely  made,  as  the  seals  have  grown,  so  few. 
They  are  killed  all  along  the  beach,  and  the  myriads  of  flies  about  the  decaying  carcasses  must  be  the 
source  of  great  annoyance  to  the  breeding  seals.  The  drive  ascends  from  the  parade  ground  on  the 
top  of  the  landslide.  This  was  formerly  occupied  by  bachelors,  but  there  are  no  separate  droves  of 
bachelors  now.  They  are  scattered  in  little  clumps  about  and  betweeu  the  rookeries.  The  drive  then 
for  about  100  feet  ascends  a  grassy  cliff  so  steep  that  steps  have  been  dug  in  it  to  facilitate  climbing. 
Then  follows  some  700  feet  of  irregular  but  very  steep  slope,  in  which  the  easiest  depressions  are 
sought,  though  the  hill  is  everywhere  about  as  steep  as  a  man  can  climb,  and  one  who  goes  up  it  must 
cling  to  the  grass.  Above  this  slope  the  drive  reaches  the  back  of  the  knife-like  ridge  that  separates 
Palata  from  Zapalata.  This  widens  out  into  an  easy,  level  plateau  for  about  20  rods,  marked  with 
road  skeletons.  The  elevation  is  about  850  feet  by  Dr.  Stejneger's  map.  Then  follows  a  steep  climb 
up  gravel  and  clay,  with  scanty  grass  and  heather,  worn  into  steps,  the  driveway  bounded  on  the 
southwest  by  a  slanting  precipice  that  lies  above  Sabatcha  Dira.  A  steep  shoulder  of  heather  and 
small  plants  is  followed  by  a  final  climb  into  the  clouds  to  the  summit  of  the  pass,  1,220  feet  above 
the  sea.  From  the  summit  an  abrupt  descent  leads  down  a  distance  of  about  500  feet  by  a  zigzag 
trail  as  steep  as  a  horse  could  pass  over,  strewn  with  gravel  and  covered  with  low  flowers,  to  the  bed 
of  a  swift  little  brook.  This  stream  flows  down  into  a  grassy  basin,  the  slopes  becoming  less  and  less 
steep,  the  rye  grass  and  putchki  growing  taller.  At  the  junction  of  this  stream,  flowing  into  the  little 
brook  from  the  west,  the  drive  merges  into  the  one  from  Zapadni.  The  drive  from  Palata  is  not  in 
any  place  so  difficult  as  the  gully  just  above  Zapadni,  but  it  is  half  higher  and  twice  as  long,  a  trip 
one  could  not  take  on  horseback,  nor  would  it  be  easy  to  lead  a  horse  over  it.  Comparing  it  with 
conditions  on  St.  Paul,  the  Palata  Pass  is  as  steep  as  the  cone  of  Bogoslof,  twice  as  high,  and  is 
without  water.  Compared  with  the  severest  drive  on  St.  Paul,  it  would  stand  as  the  ascent  of  Mount 
Blanc  to  a  walk  in  the  park.  It  is  a  very  fatiguing  trip  for  a  man.  It  took  me,  walking  rapidly, 
thirty -eight  minutes  (deducting  stops)  from  Palata  to  the  grassy  level,  860  feet;  thence  twenty -eight 
minutes  to  the  top,  1,220  feet;  fifteen  minutes  down  the  upper  slope,  and  fifteen  more  to  Glinka. 

NO  EVIL  RESULTS  FROM  THESE  DRIVES. 

Arid  yet,  notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  drives  of  the  Commander  Islands, 
no  harm  has  resulted  to  the  breeding  herds  of  these  islands  which  can  be  traced  to 
this  cause. 

CARE  EXERCISED  IN  DRIVING. 

Many  drives  were  witnessed  during  the  past  two  summers  on  St.  Paul  Island. 
In  connection  with  none  of  them  was  seen  warrant  for  the  harrowing  tales  of  animals 
dying  of  exhaustion  and  fright  by  the  wayside  or  smothering  under  the  feet  of 
their  terrified  companions.  In  the  drive  of  July  15,  numbering  1,500  seals,  from  the 
Reef  not  a  seal  fell  by  the  way  or  showed  signs  of  dangerous  exhaustion.  Many 
were  plainly  fatigued  by  the  journey,  and  when  allowed  to  rest  sprawled  out  panting 
on  the  ground.  But  after  resting,  when  the  drive  was  ready  to  move  on,  they  were 
ready  and  able  to  go  with  it. 

THE  FUR  SEAL  NOT  ILL  ADAPTED  TO  LAND  TRAVEL. 

The  fur  seal's  only  difficulty  in  land  traveling  is  the  inconvenience  occasioned  by 
its  thick  blanket  of  blubber.  In  the  water  and  in  a  moist  cool  atmosphere  this  does 
not  trouble  it.  But  under  the  action  of  dry  hot  air  it  experiences  great  difficulty  in 
making  the  least  exertion.  Combined  with  all  this  is  the  fact  that  the  great  oar-like 
feet  of  the  seal  make  it  clumsy,  and  undoubtedly  its  muscles  become  tired  quickly 
under  the  unwonted  exercise  of  walking  instead  of  swimming. 

When  a  seal  becomes  exhausted  and  is  unable  to  continue  the  journey  it  is  killed 
on  the  spot.  This  is  not  because  the  animal  is  necessarily  permanently  injured.  If 


132  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

left  to  recover  it  would  doubtless  make  its  way  to  the  sea.  But  to  save  time  aiid 
avoid  possible  loss  of  the  skiu  the  animal  is  at  once  killed  and  skinned,  the  pelt 
being  brought  in  by  the  drivers.  These  skins  are  called  "road''  skins  and  the 
carcasses  left  to  be  eaten  by  the  foxes  soon  become  the  "  road  skeletons  "  of  which  so 
much  has  been  said. 

THE  "CARCASS-STREWN"  DRIVEWAYS. 

So  much  had  been  said  about  the  carcass-strewn  driveways  that  it  seemed  worth 
while  to  verify  or  disprove  the  matter  by  personal  observation.  Accordingly,  after 
the  killing  season  of  1896  was  over,  each  and  every  one  of  the  driveways  of  St.  Paul 
Island  were  traversed  and  closely  inspected.  Two  skeletons  were  found  on  the  Reef; 
two  others  were  found  in  the  course  of  a  small  food  drive,  brought  over  from  Lukanin 
to  the  salt  house  at  the  foot  of  the  cove.  This  latter  drive  was  evidently  carelessly 
made,  as  its  small  size  and  the  short  distance  made  any  casualties  unnecessary.  The 
deaths  on  Reef  driveway  each  occurred  on  separate  drives,  and  neither  occurred  on 
the  drive  witnessed  on  July  15.  On  none  of  the  other  driveways  were  skeletons 
found.  Scattered  bones  were  found  here  and  there,  but  these  were  common  to  all 
parts  of  the  islands  in  the  vicinity  of  killing  grounds,  having  been  carried  away  by 
the  foxes.  Four  deaths  are  therefore  known  to  have  occurred  on  the  drives  of 
St.  Paul  Island  during  the  season  of  1896,  which  aggregated  24,000  animals  killed, 
besides  many  driven  up  but  rejected  as  of  unsuitable  age.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  in 
the  handling  of  no  similar  body  of  animals,  of  no  matter  what  kind,  would  a  smaller 
percentage  of  deaths  by  accident  occur.  Moreover  in  the  few  cases  involved  the 
animals  were  at  once  relieved  from  suffering,  aud  their  skins  were  saved. 

FATALITIES  ON  THE  DRIVES. 

During  the  season  of  1897  a  much  greater  proportion  of  accidents  occurred  on 
the  drives,  the  number  of  seals  dying  probably  reaching  a  total  of  25  out  of  about 
20,000.  This  was  due  in  large  measure  to  the  unfavorable  weather  of  this  season. 
At  times  the  sun  came  out  warm  and  occasioned  considerable  suffering  among  the 
animals  driven.  In  the  books  of  the  islands  is  kept  a  record  of  the  skins  of  animals 
dying  on  the  drives.  The  list  is  a  small  one.  Of  the  21,000  seals  killed  on  the  two 
islands  in  the  year  1890,  only  11  are  recorded  as  dying  by  the  wayside.  This 
moreover  is  the  year  and  the  driving  on  which  Mr.  Elliott  has  based  his  theory  of 
the  evil  effects  of  overdriving. 

INJURIES  TO  BACHELORS  COULD  NOT  AFFECT  THE  HERD. 

But  even  if  the  young  males  were  driven  to  death  on  the  driveways  it  would  not 
affect  the  herd  of  fur  seals  any  more  than  the  slaughter  of  steers  would  affect  a  herd 
of  cattle.  It  would  be  cruel  and  inhuman  to  do  it,  but  the  responsibility  would  rest 
with  the  person  doing  the  driving,  and  the  evil  effect  would  end  with  the  life  of  the 
animal  so  tortured.  If  the  animal  as  a  result  of  the  ordeal  of  driving  goes  back 
weakened  in  physical  strength  and  vigor,  it  either  recovers  from  such  injury  or  dies,  if 
not  at  once,  then  in  the  next  migration.  No  seal  physically  injured  in  any  serious 
manner  survives  the  harsh  sifting  process  of  the  northern  winter,  which  sends  back 
only  those  perfect  in  every  way  and  fit  to  survive.  We  may  therefore  assume  that 
if  a  seal  returns  to  the  hauling  grounds  the  next  spring,  he  has  fully  recovered  and  is 
physically  able  to  repeat  his  experiences. 


DRIVING   NOT    A    FACTOR    IN   THE    DECLINE. 


THE  IMPOSSIBILITY  OF  SEXUAL  INJURY. 


133 


There  remains,  then,  but  one  further  point,  namely,  the  possibility  of  the  male 
seal  becoming  sexually  injured  as  a  result  of  driving  while  still  retaining  his  physical 
vigor.  The  organs  of  generation  in  the  male  fur  seal  are  carried  like  those  of  the 
dog  or  similar  animals,  and  owing  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the  hind  legs  of  the 
seal  they  appear  to  be  in  an  exposed  and  dangerous  position.  It  would  seem  as 
if  the  testes  must  come  in  actual  contact  with  the  ground  when  the  animal  is  in 
motion.  A  hasty  observation  might  lead  to  the  supposition  that  to  force  an  animal 
in  this  condition  to  travel  several  miles  over  rocks  and  stones  would  produce  direct 
injury  to  these  organs.  Whether  or  not  this  is  the  source  of  Mr.  Elliott's  theory  of 
the  impairment  of  the  virility  of  the  bulls  through  overdriving  we  do  not  know,  but 
if  this  did  not  suggest  the  theory  it  is  hard  to  understand  what  did. 

VOLUNTARY  MOVEMENTS  OF  THE  MALES. 

The  violent  voluntary  movements  of  the  adult  bulls  on  the  rocky  floors  of  their 
breeding  grounds  would  be  sufficient  answer  to  this  contention.  No  efforts  required 
of  the  seals  on  the  drives  are  any  harder  than  those  they  undergo  of  their  own 
accord.  But  without  relying  upon  this,  the  investigations  of  the  past  two  seasons 
show  that  the  testes  of  the  male  seal  are  under  direct  control  of  the  animal,  and  when 
he  is  in  motion  are  drawn  up  into  the  body,  where  they  are  absolutely  protected.1 
Thus  there  is  no  possibility  for  direct  injury  to  the  generative  organs  of  the  male 
from  driving. 

DRIVING  NOT  A  FACTOR  IN  THE  DECLINE. 

Therefore,  after  a  full  consideration  of  the  subject  of  driving  in  all  its  bearings, 
we  are  inevitably  brought  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  and  has  not  been  a  factor 
in  the  decline  of  the  herd.  It  would  be  possible  under  thoughtless  or  unfeeling 
management  to  make  the  operation  the  source  of  great  physical  suffering  to  the 
animals  concerned,  and  the  driving  should  be,  as  it  evidently  is,  always  under  humane 
and  intelligent  supervision.  The  interests  of  the  herd,  however,  are  not  concerned 
in  the  presence  or  absence  of  such  care.  The  treatment  of  the  bachelors  on  the  drives 
and  killing  grounds  of  St.  Paul  Island  no  more  affects  the  breeding  rookeries  than 
would  inhuman  treatment  of  horses  on  the  street-car  lines  of  San  Francisco  affect  the 
breeding  herd  of  the  Palo  Alto  stock  farm. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  consider  certain  alleged  sources  of  injury  to  the 
herd  through  stampedes  occasioned  by  fright  on  the  rookeries  or  through  raids  by 
seal  poachers.  These  and  many  other  more  or  less  imaginary  causes  of  injury  to 
the  herd  were  used  to  support  and  strengthen  the  main  contention  of  the  British 
case  before  the  Paris  Arbitration  that  land  killing  was  the  cause  of  decline.  But 
these  causes,  if  they  ever  actually  existed,  could  produce  only  temporary  results,  as 
they  were  themselves  necessarily  temporary  in  their  nature  and  action.  The  decline 
of  the  herd,  to  whatever  it  may  be  due,  has  been  constant,  and  for  it  must  be  sought 
a  permanent  cause. 


1  See  observations  in  the  Daily  Journal  under  date  of  October  11  and  19,  1897. 


CHAPTER    X. 

ALLEGED  POSSIBLE  CHANGE  OF  HABITS. 

MIGRATION   TO   COMMANDER   ISLANDS. 

It  may  be  worth  while  here  to  note  certain  supposed  possible  changes  of  habits 
on  the  part  of  the  fur  seals  as  a  result  of  the  interference  of  mau.  Much  has  been 
said  at  the  Paris  Tribunal  and  elsewhere  regarding  the  danger  of  driving  the  seals 
from  their  haunts  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  to  seek  other  shores.  There  is  no  such 
possibility. 

It  has  been  a  tradition  in  the  history  of  the  fur  seals  that  the  Commander  Islands 
were  originally  occupied  by  seals  which  had  abandoned  the  Pribilof  Islands.  This 
tradition  has  not  the  slighest  foundation.  Doubtless  all  came  centuries  ago  from  one 
parent  stock,  but  as  the  two  herds  exist  to-day  they  are  distinct  races  or  species  and 
do  not  intermingle  in  any  way.  Notwithstanding  this,  it  has  within  recent  times  been 
thought  possible  that  under  exceptional  circumstances  we  might  expect  an  exodus  of 
seals  from  the  Pribilof  Islands  to  the  Eussian  islands.  Even  so  late  as  the  present 
year  it  has  been  asserted  that  Pribilof  seals  were  taken  on  the  Asiatic  side,  the 
alleged  cause  of  their  going  there  being  the  fact  that  they  had  been  branded  on  their 
native  rookeries.  These  stories  are  all  very  absurd  and  rest  upon  no  basis  of  fact  or 
knowledge,  but,  in  view  of  the  persistency  with  which  they  have  been  urged,  it  will 
not  be  out  of  place  to  consider  the  habits  of  the  animals  in  the  light  of  such  possible 
results. 

THE   FIXED    HABITS    OF   THE   SEALS. 

The  habits  of  the  fur  seal  are  strongly  fixed.  From  the  natural  ruthless 
destruction  of  all  seals  in  which  the  geographical  instinct  or  the  instincts  of  feeding 
and  reproduction  are  defective  results  the  extreme  perfection  of  the  few  instincts 
which  the  animal  possesses.  The  life  processes  of  the  fur  seal  are  as  perfect  as 
clockwork,  but  its  grade  of  intelligence  is  low.  Its  range  of  choice  in  action  is  very 
slight.  It  is  a  wonderful  automaton,  and  the  stress  of  the  migrations  will  always 
keep  it  so. 

THE   SEAL'S'  LOW   INTELLIGENCE. 

By  intellect  or  intelligence  in  this  sense  is  meant  the  power  to  choose  among 
different  possible  courses  of  action.  External  influences  and  internal  impulses 
produce  certain  impressions  on  the  nervous  system  of  the  animal.  By  the  automatic 
instinct  the  response  which  follows  is  directly  related  to  the  cause,  and  there  is  no 
choice  among  responses.  So  much  influence,  so  much  rebound.  By  the  operations 
of  instinct  each  individual  in  given  conditions  will  act  just  as  any  other  individual 
will.  Intellect,  however,  implies  individuality.  One  animal  will  choose  to  do  this, 
another  that,  adapting  action  to  certain  needs  and  circumstances.  A  fur  seal  will  do 
what  its  ancestors  have  had  to  do  to  perfection.  If  he  is  forced  to  do  anything  else 
he  is  dazed  and  stupid. 
134 


EFFECTS  OF  CONTACT  WITH  MAN.  135 

As  a  result  of  all  this  the  habits  of  the  fur  seal  are  tixed  aiid  ini mutable.  No 
better  illustration  of  this  can  be  cited  than  the  fact  that  after  having  been  driven 
from  their  hauling  ground,  culled  over,  and  subjected  to  the  excitement  of  the  killing 
grounds,  bachelors  have  been  known  to  return  quietly  and  take  up  their  places  on 
these  same  hauling  grounds  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  During  the  past  two 
seasons  seals  have  been  repeatedly  watched  as  they  were  released  from  the  killing 
ground  at  the  village,  swim  away  directly  through  Zoltoi  Bay,  round  Keef  Point,  and 
haul  out  on  the  hauling  ground  of  Eeef  rookery  from  which  they  had  been  driven 
perhaps  three  hours  before.  And  this  thing  goes  on  throughout  the  season  and  has 
been  going  on  for  half  a  century.  The  seals  have  no  remembrance  of  past  events. 
Once  in  the  water  they  are  solely  governed  by  the  instinct  which  leads  them  to  haul 
out  at  the  particular  point  where  they  are  accustomed  to  rest.  That  they  have  been 
so  recently  disturbed  there  is  merely  an  incident  of  which  they  remember  nothing. 

CONTACT  WITH  MAN  HAS  HAD  NO  EFFECT. 

The  fur  seals  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  have  been  constantly  in  contact  with  men 
during  more  than  a  century.  At  times,  in  its  early  history,  the  herd  has  come  near 
annihilation  as  a  result  of  man's  rapacity  and  improvidence.  But  neither  this  nor  the 
more  systematic  and  reasonable  treatment  which  has  been  accorded  them  in  recent 
years  has  affected  in  the  least  the  habits  of  the  animals.  So  far  as  we  know,  the  fur 
seals  of  a  century  and  a  half  ago  did  exactly  what  their  descendants  of  to-day  are 
doing.  There  is  nothing  in  present  conditions  nor  in  the  conditions  of  the  past  to 
warrant  the  assumption  that  in  the  future  they  will  cease  to  do  the  same  thing. 

At  the  approach  of  winter  they  depart  on  their  migrations.  With  the  returning 
spring  they  unfailingly  arrive  class  by  class  and  go  through  the  routine  of  their  daily 
life.  There  is  no  evidence  that  any  phase  of  their  life  activity  has  changed  since  man 
found  them.  None  have  been  found  to  seek  other  shores.  It  is  probably  not  possible 
for  man  to  drive  them  from  their  breeding  haunts.  Their  rookeries  are  their  home, 
and  to  them  they  will  return  so  long  as  they  live. 

ALTERATION  OF  CONDITIONS. 

Some  slight  alteration  in  the  conditions  of  life  among  the  fur  seals  have  neces- 
sarily resulted  from  the  interference  of  man.  Land  killing  has  lessened  the  number 
of  bulls,  reducing  their  turbulence,  In  the  natural  state  of  the  animals,  when  the 
adult  males  were  practically  equal  in  number  to  the  females  the  fighting  among 
them  must  have  been  something  terrific.  To-day,  when  the  adult  bulls  are  only  about 
one  thirtieth  of  the  number  of  females,  the  amount  of  fighting  indulged  in  is  sufficient 
to  show  that  the  male  fur  seal  has  lost  none  of  his  belligerent  qualities. 

THE  BACHELORS  OF  BERING  ISLAND. 

From  the  excessively  close  killing  of  the  males  on  the  Russian  islands,  a  curious 
result  has  been  brought  about.  On  Xorth  rookery  of  Bering  Island,  for  a  number  of 
years,  every  male  that  could  be  found  had  been  killed.  As  a  result,  there  were  in 
1895  not  more  than  6  adult  bulls  to  a  herd  of  about  1,000  breeding  females.  On  this 
rookery  the  bachelors  were  found  to  occupy  places  among  the  breeding  seals  instead 
of  hauling  by  themselves,  as  under  normal  conditions.  In  this,  however,  we  are  not 
to  assume  a  change  of  habit.  It  is  the  instinct  of  the  male  to  seek  the  breeding 


136  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

« 

ground.  On  his  return  as  a  yearling  force  of  habit  draws  him  there.  As  he  grows 
older  sexual  instinct  exerts  its  influence.  Eventually,  if  he  is  not  killed,  he  arrives 
at  the  age.  when  his  strength  enables  him  to  win  a  place  and  rule  a  harem  of  his  own. 
It  may  therefore  be  said  that  the  natural  habit  of  the  bachelor  is  to  get  on  the 
breeding  ground  or  as  near  it  as  possible,  the  fear  of  the  bull  alone  keeping  him 
away.  And  he  has  good  reason  to  stand  in  dread  of  the  harem  master.  At  the  close 
of  the  breeding  season,  as  soon  as  the  old  males  go  away  to  feed,  the  bachelors  scatter 
over  the  rookeries  and  enjoy  their  new  found  freedom  until  the  bulls  return.  If  the 
bulls  were  allowed  to  increase  on  Bering  Island,  they  would  certainly  drive  out  the 
bachelors  and  restore  the  normal  conditions. 

ARBITRARY  SELECTION  OF  MALES. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  evidence  that  the  race  of  fur  seals  as  a  whole  has  been 
in  any  way  affected  by  the  arbitrary  selection  of  males  for  killing.  Only  strong, 
vigorous  males  can  maintain  themselves  on  the  rookeries,  and  those  allowed  to  live 
are  neither  more  nor  less  vigorous  than  the  others  would  have  been. 

Effects  resulting  from  variations  in  the  character  of  the  breeding  males  can  not 
be  great,  and  would  not,  if  they  existed,  make  their  appearances  for  many  generations, 
perhaps  not  for  centuries.  Careful  supervision  might  possibly  make  effective  artificial 
selection  of  males,  and  such  experiments,  whether  leading  to  practical  results  or  not, 
are  worth  trying.  But  whatever  may  be  done  in  the  future,  it  is  certain  that  the 
character  of  the  herd  has  not  been  changed  by  the  action  of  man  in  removing  its 
superfluous  male  life. 

It  must  be  remembered,  in  this  connection,  that  a  strong  selective  influence  is 
exercised  by  the  migrations  in  the  sea.  Only  the  vigorous  members  of  the  herd 
survive  the  experience  of  winter.  No  decrepit  individuals  have  been  known  to  come 
back  in  the  spring.  The  rough  sea  of  the  north  tells  no  tales,  and  it  sends  back  to 
the  islands  only  those  fit  to  survive. 

THE    EFFECT    OF   DECLINE. 

The  decline  which  the  fur-seal  herd  has  suffered  within  the  past  decade  has  so 
diminished  its  stock  of  breeding  females  that  the  rookeries  have  contracted  in  area 
and  at  the  same  time  become  more  sparsely  populated.  The  harems  are  more  isolated 
and  distinct.  The  bulls  have  more  room  and  are  farther  removed  from  their  neighbors 
or  the  idle  bulls.  These  alterations,  however,  represent  mere  adaptation  to  changing 
conditions  and  are  not  indication  of  changes  in  the  habits  of  life. 

THE   POSSIBILITY   OF   DRIVING   THE    SEALS    ELSEWHERE. 

Most  of  the  dire  evils  charged  to  man's  interference  are  vague  and  intangible. 
Before  the  Paris  Tribunal  much  was  urged  by  the  British  representatives  about  the 
danger  of  the  methods  of  land  killing  driving  the  seals  to  seek  other  breeding  haunts. 
But  no  proof  was  adduced  of  such  result.  Perhaps  the  best  illustration  of  this  class 
of  vague  possibilities  is  found  in  Mr.  Elliott's  monograph.1 

The  subject  of  how  best  to  manage  the  fur-seal  islands  had  been  under  discussion. 
In  objection  to  the  plan  of  the  Government  itself  controlling  the  taking  and  selling 
of  the  seal  skins  Mr.  Elliott,  assuming  that  such  a  course  would  involve  the  sailing  of 

1  Seal  Islands  of  Alaska,  1881,  p.  27. 


ABANDONMENT    OF    SPILKI    ROOKERY.  137 

"a  thousand  ships  to  be  present  at  the  sale,"  exclaims  that  "the  rattling  of  their 
anchor  chains  and  the  scraping  of  their  keels  on  the  beaches  of  the  two  little  islands 
would  alone  drive  every  seal  away  and  over  to  the  Russian  grounds  in  a  remarkably 
short  space  of  time."  The  quality  of  seamanship  implied  in  the  second  feature  of  this 
dire  calamity  is  a  fair  indication  of  the  value  of  the  prophecy  as  a  whole. 

THE    ABANDONMENT    OF    SPILKI    ROOKERY. 

There  are,  however,  a  few  of  the  alleged  injurious  effects  of  contact  with  man 
which  can  be  located  and  considered.  One  of  these  is  the  abandonment  of  the  small 
breeding  ground  formerly  occupied  by  seals  under  the  cliff's  behind  St.  Paul  village. 
This  breeding  ground,  though  out  of  sight  of  the  village,  is  very  close  to  it.  The 
claim  is  made  by  Mr.  Elliott  that  the  children  and  idlers  from  the  village,  by  playing 
with  the  fur-seal  pups  and  teasing  them,  gradually  brought  about  the  abandonment 
of  the  rookery. 

The  abandonment  of  Spilki  was  gradual  and  finally  culminated  in  1880.  The 
old  bulls  came  and  took  up  their  places,  but  finding  no  cows  they  withdrew.  In 
1872-1874  Mr.  Elliott  reports  this  breeding  ground,  in  common  with  all  the  others,  in 
good  condition  and  full  of  seals.  In  1890  he  found  it  deserted.  His  conclusion  was 
that  the  seals,  under  the  annoyance  of  the  natives,  had  withdrawn  elsewhere. 

THE    PRESENCE    OF    THE    VILLAGE    NOT    THE    CAUSE. 

It  is  sufficient  answer  to  this  theory  to  say  that  the  village  of  St.  Paul  has  existed 
on  its  present  site,  and  consequently  in  the  same  proximity  to  Spilki  rookery,  ever 
since  1824.  For  fifty  years,  therefore,  according  to  Mr.  Elliott's  own  testimony,  no  ill 
effects  on  the  seals  had  been  produced  by  the  presence  of  the  villagers. 

MORE  EXPOSED  CONDITION  OF  LAGOON  ROOKERY. 

In  further  opposition  of  this  theory  we  may  mention  the  example  of  Lagoon  rookery, 
which  lies  just  across  the  little  cove  from  Spilki.  It  is  in  plain  sight  of  the  village  and 
but  little  farther  away  from  it.  All  the  traffic  of  loading  and  unloading  the  ships  passes 
before  it.  Moreover,  this  rookery  existed  undisturbed  for  years  and  years  with  the 
operations  of  the  great  common  killing  ground  of  the  island  going  on  within  plain 
sight  of  its  inmates  and  only  a  few  yards  away.  For  a  time  all  the  seals  on  the  island 
of  St.  Paul  were  slaughtered  on  the  flat  beside  the  narrow  channel  of  water,  about 
one  hundred  feet  in  width,  separating  Lagoon  rookery  from  the  killing  ground. 

No  clearer  proof  could  possibly  be  asked  than  the  example  this  rookery  shows, 
of  the  utter  disregard  for  the  presence  and  actions  of  man  manifested  by  the  fur  seal. 

THE  REAL  CAUSE  OF  THE  ABANDONMENT. 

When  we  come  to  seek  a  more  rational  cause  for  the  abandonment  of  Spilki  rookery, 
it  is  not  hard  to  find.  The  rookery  was  but  a  small  one  at  best,  as  the  ground  it 
occupied  was  limited.  Mr.  Elliott  ascribed  to  it  in  1872-1874  about  275  harems  and 
about  4,000  breeding  cows.  We  know  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  this  estimate  is  largely 
exaggerated.  The  log  of  St.  Paul  Island  shows  that  in  1879  its  breeding  families 
numbered  29.  There  was  at  that  time  no  hint  given  of  abandonment  or  unusual 
diminution  of  the  rookery.  With  the  decline  of  the  herd,  which  began  a  few  years 
later,  and  may  have  been  begun  earlier,  this  rookery  suffered  diminution  with  the 


138  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

others.  In  1890  Mr.  Elliott  found  that  the  herd  on  St.  Paul  had  diminished  to  about 
one-fourth.  A  proportionate  reduction  for  Spilki  would  have  diminished  it  to  less 
than  a  dozen  families. 

To  one  who  understands  the  gregarious  nature  of  the  fur  seal  there  is  no  surprise 
excited  by  the  abandonment  of  so  small  a  rookery  as  this.  The  conclusion  is  inevi- 
table that  when  reduced  to  a  mere  handful  of  harems,  the  animals  moved  over  to  the 
larger  Lagoon  breeding  ground  across  the  cove. 

ORIGIN    OF   LAGOON   AND    SPILKI. 

We  do  not  know  which  of  these  two  rookeries  was  first  established,  but  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  one  originated  as  an  overflow  of  the  other,  as  both  are 
limited  in  extent.  As  the  rocky  spit  on  which  Lagoon  rookery  is  established  appears 
to  be  of  recent  formation,  it  may  be  that  Spilki  was  the  original  breeding  ground.  But 
in  any  case  the  simple  explanation  of  the  abandonment  of  Spilki  is  found  in  its  small 
size  originally,  the  known  fact  of  decrease  in  the  herd,  and  the  gregarious  instinct  of 
the  animals.  When  the  remnant  became  too  small  to  exist  as  a  unit,  its  individuals 
moved  over  to  the  Lagoon,  to  be  with  the  crowd. 

THE   ABANDONMENT   OF   MARUNICHEN. 

In  further  support  of  this,  we  may  cite  the  only  other  example  of  absolute  abandon- 
ment of  breeding  territory  on  the  islands.  On  the  north  shore  of  St.  Paul  formerly 
existed  a  small  rookery  which  has  long  since  disappeared.  Even  the  oldest  inhabitant 
(Kerick  Artimanof )  merely  remembers  it  was  talked  of  in.  his  childhood.  His  expla- 
nation that  it  was  a  small  rookery  and  never  looked  upon  as  important  gives  the  key 
to  the  situation.  Its  breeding  seals  abandoned  their  isolated  position  to  be  with  the 
crowds  on  the  shores  of  Northeast  Point  or  Zapadni.  Interference  on  the  part  of  man 
can  not  be  offered  as  a  reason  for  its  abandonment,  for  there  is  no  more  isolated  and 
inaccessible  place  on  the  island. 

ELLIOTT'S   THEORY  FOR   SIVUTCH    ROOKERY. 

In  his  1890  report  Mr.  Elliott  explains  the  presence  of  a  breeding  rookery  on 
Sivutch  Eock  by  saying  that  the  seals  had  been  so  harassed  by  the  severe  methods  of 
driving  employed  on  Eeef  rookery  that  they  had  sought  on  its  surface  a  place  where 
they  might  rest  in  peace.  He  says  that  prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  severe  driving  in 
1882  the  seals  had  instinctively  avoided  this  place  because  of  its  exposed  position  and 
the  probable  destruction  of  the  young  by  the  storms  which  sweep  over  it.  In  short, 
he  assumes  a  few  seals  had  chosen  to  waive  the  instinct  of  self  preservation  and  to 
locate  themselves  in  a  dangerous  position  simply  because  of  temporary  annoyance. 

We  have  already  spoken  of  the  strong  instinct  of  the  fur  seal  and  its  lack  of 
reasoning  powers.  Such  an  explanation  as  this  is  wholly  inconsistent  with  both.  If 
the  animal  possessed  any  such  powers  of  discrimination  as  here  assumed,  there  would 
never  be  a  second  drive  made  from  any  hauling  ground  on  the  islands. 

SIVUTCH   OVERLOOKED    IN    1872-1874. 

We  are  inclined  to  believe  that  Mr.  Elliott  in  1872-1874  simply  overlooked  the 
presence  of  this  rookery.  He  says  nothing  about  it  in  his  earlier  report.  In  1890  he 


NOTIONS    REGARDING    THE    SEALS.  139 

says  it  did  not  exist  then  at  the  earlier  date.1  Inspection  of  this  rock  on  several 
occasions  during  the  seasons  of  1896  and  1897  shows  that  it  has  probably  always  been 
occupied  as  a  breeding  ground.  It  is  certainly  well  adapted  as  such.  It  is  not  wind 
swept  or  dangerous  to  breeding  seals.  The  high  ridge  of  Reef  peninsula  protects  it 
from  the  northern  and  western  storms,  while  Otter  Island  breaks  the  force  of  the 
storms  from  the  southwest.  Furthermore  the  drowning  of  pups  by  storms  is  one  of 
the  rarests  of  accidents. 

The  occurrence  of  a  breeding  ground  on  Sivutch  Rock  is  perfectly  natural.  The 
ground  is  adapted  for  rookery  purposes.  It  is  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  shores 
of  Reef  rookery,  and  lies  directly  in  the  line  followed  by  the  seals  in  approaching  it. 
There  is  no  need  of  seeking  a  more  complex  explanation.  It  would  be  a  matter  of 
greater  surprise  if  it  did  not  contain  a  rookery. 

THE   NOTIONS   OF   THE   ALEUTS. 

Most  of  the  absurd  notions  current  regarding  the  seals  have  their  origin  in  the 
minds  of  the  Aleuts  themselves.  At  least  they  possess  such  notions  now,  though 
originally  they  may  have  adopted  them  from  the  earlier  restrictions  which  were  once 
iu  vogue  on  the  Pribilof  Islands,  and  some  of  which  are  still  enforced  on  the  Com- 
mander Islands.  Some  of  these  rules  are  the  following:  The  prohibition  of  the  use 
of  tobacco  on  the  rookeries,  of  the  wearing  of  hobnailed  shoes,  or  of  the  lighting  of 
fires  when  the  wind  was  in  such  a  direction  as  to  carry  the  smoke  into  the  vicinity 
of  a  rookery. 

The  Aleuts  may  be  excused  for  their  beliefs.  Their  training  and  experience  is 
limited.  They  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  domestic  animals,  and  have  never  had 
opportunity  to  test  the  theories  they  hold  regarding  the  seals.  It  was  plainly  the 
belief  of  these  people  that  direful  results  would  follow  our  work  of  the  past  two 
seasons  on  the  islands.  One  intelligent  native  declared  that  the  scarcity  of  the  seals 
was  due  to  the  tramping  of  investigators  about  the  rookeries  in  recent  years.  Another 
complacently  declared  that  the  rookeries  were  all  right,  because  the  old  bulls  came 
back  regularly  and  in  large  numbers. 

THESE  NOTIONS  SHARED  BY  GOVERNMENT  AGENTS. 

That  the  fears  of  the  natives  have  been  shared  in  to  a  certain  extent,  at  least,  in 
the  past  and  are  still  held  by  the  agents  in  charge  of  the  islands,  is  evident.  Thus, 
we  find  recorded  in  the  Jog  of  St.  Paul  Island,  under  date  of  June  11, 1891,  the  opinion 
that  the  "  constant  and  persistent  running  over  the  rookeries  of  Elliott  last  year  at 
this  time  may  be  charged  with  a  large  part  of  the  falling  off  of  seals  driven."  Again, 
under  date  of  November  11, 1895,  the  opinion  is  recorded  that  the  "daily  scientific 
and  photographic  investigations"  of  the  summer  have  demoralized  the  rookeries. 
During  the  season  of  1897  serious  objections  were  made  to  the  experiments  in  electrical 
branding  as  conducted  in  the  vicinity  of  the  rookeries  because  of  supposed  injurious 
effects  which  might  result  from  the  noise  of  the  gasoline  engine,  yet  the  animals 
themselves  paid  not  the  slightest  attention  to  the  engines  or  to  the  branding  operations. 
Most  of  them  have  not  even  yet  noted  the  existence  of  man. 

1  See  extract  from  log  of  St.  Paul,  Pt.  II,  under  date  of  August  18,  when  Captain  Bryant  reports 
many  seals  hauled  out  there. 


140  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

As  a  result  of  this  spirit  which  has  pervaded  the  management  of  the  rookeries 
the  policy  of  the  past  has  been  virtually  to  keep  the  fur  seal  herd  in  a  wild  state,  it 
being  shut  out  from  all  sight  or  contact  with  man  except  in  so  far  as  it  was  necessary 
to  disturb  it  to  secure  the  product  of  the  herd. 

THE   POLICY   OF   SECLUSION    DETRIMENTAL. 

This  mistaken  policy  bore  its  fruit.  From  the  time  of  Mr.  Elliott's  investigation  in 
1872-1874  until  the  collapse  of  the  herd  in  1890  the  history  of  the  rookeries  is  a  blank, 
so  far  as  any  real  knowledge  is  concerned.  What  was  needed  was  a  thorough  and 
systematic  study  each  year  of  the  condition  of  the  breeding  herd.  It  is  safe  to  say 
that  had  this  been  done,  the  error,  falsehood,  and  confusion  which  so  effectually  stifled 
the  truth  before  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration,  and  caused  that  bewildered  court 
to  legalize  pelagic  sealing,  would  not  have  been  possible. 

Under  this  policy  of  seclusion  the  herd  melted  away  to  one-half  of  its  size  before 
it  was  known  that  any  danger  threatened  it.  Year  by  year  thousands  of  the  young 
died  and  rotted  on  the  rookeries  as  the  result  of  the  ravages  of  a  dangerous  parasite, 
which  should  have  been  recognized  and  measures  taken,  if  possible,  to  suppress  it. 
Others  of  the  young  died  of  starvation  on  the  rookeries,  proclaiming  not  only  the  fact 
but  the  cause  of  the  decline  of  the  herd,  but  they  were  unnoticed.  Had  the  fur-seal 
herd  been  treated  as  any  valuable  herd  of  animals  are  and  should  be  treated, 
its  habits,  needs,  possibilities,  and  limitations  studied  from  year  to  year  from  the 
beginning,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there  would  now  be  no  fur-seal  question.  For 
the  difficu^ies  of  the  situation  to-day  the  policy  which  deferred  to  these  groundless 
fears  of  what  might  result  from  examination  and  disturbance  of  the  animals  is  in  a 
measure,  at  least,  responsible. 

INTELLIGENT  INSPECTION  NOT  WANTON  INVASION. 

It  is,  of  course,  not  contended  that  the  precautions  taken  against  wanton  invasion 
of  the  rookeries  by  the  natives  and  by  casual  visitors  are  not  wise  and  necessary. 
They  should  never  be  wanting,  but  they  should  never  include  or  influence  the  officers 
in  charge  of  the  herd.  We  make  a  clear  distinction  between  mere  disturbance  and 
intelligent  inspection  and  supervision.  It  is  possible  to  visit  the  rookeries  daily  and 
study  them  closely,  to  count  their  families  and  to  photograph  them,  without  disturbing 
the  breeding  seals  in  the  least.  After  the  breeding  season  is  over  and  the  harems 
have  broken  up,  the  rookeries  can  be  entered,  the  animals  driven  off,  and  their  grounds 
inspected  without  harm. 

INSPECTION  NOT  HARMFUL. 

Iii  the  work  of  the  past  two  seasons  it  was  assumed  that  the  herd  could  be 
inspected  and  disturbed  to  any  extent  necessary.  Whatever  would  throw  light  on 
its  condition  was  unhesitatingly  carried  out.  The  breeding  grounds  were  under 
constant  inspection  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  breeding  season  and  until 
almost  the  departure  of  the  animals  from  the  islands  in  the  fall.  On  all  the  rookeries 
the  seals  were  twice  driven  off  into  the  sea.  They  returned  immediately  to  their 
places  and  resumed  their  usual  routine  as  if  never  disturbed.  On  the  rookeries  most 
frequently  visited  the  animals  came  apparently  to  ignore  our  inspection.  They  were 
manifestly  less  troubled  by  our  presence  than  on  rookeries  seldom  visited. 


EFFECTS  OF  CONTACT  WITH  MAN.  141 

RELATIONS  OF  MAN  HAVE  NOT  AFFECTED  SEALS. 

lu  short,  our  experience  leads  us  to  believe  that  not  only  has  contact  with  mam 
produced  no  injurious  effect  on  the  herd,  but,  on  the  contrary,  more  intimate  and 
constant  contact  under  intelligent  direction  would  tend  to  render  the  seals  more 
tractable,  and  certainly  open  the  way  to  the  improvement  of  their  condition.  It  will 
never  be  possible  to  house  and  feed  the  fur  seals,  but  their  breeding  grounds  can  be 
drained  of  the  filth  which  now  breeds  death  to  the  young.  These  breeding  grounds 
can  be  extended  and  improved.  An  exact  enumeration  of  their  number  can  be  made. 
The  males  to  serve  the  breeding  grounds  can  be  selected  and  more  closely  limited, 
thus  obviating  loss  of  revenue  on  the  one  hand  and  injury  to  the  herd  on  the  other. 
In  other  words,  much  if  not  all  that  can  be  done  with  other  animals  is  possible  with 
the  fur  seal. 

To  sum  up  this  matter  of  the  relations  of  man  to  the  animals  on  the  islands :  We 
find  that  the  killing  of  males  as  carried  on,  at  least  since  the  islands  were  transferred 
to  the  United  States,  has  not  been  so  great  as  to  endanger  the  breeding  stock;  that 
the  methods  of  handling  the  seals  on  the  drives  and  killing  grounds  has  not  been 
such  as  to  permanently  injure  those  surviving  them.  In  a  word,  the  interference  and 
operations  of  man  have  in  no  way  contributed  to  alteration  of  the  life  habits  of  the 
fur  seal  and  are  in  no  way  responsible  for  its  decline  and  threatened  extermination. 


C II  APT  Ell    XI. 

PELAGIC  SEALING,  OR  KILLING  AT  SEA. 

THE  NATURE  OF  PELAGIC   SEALING. 

We  may  now  pass  to  a  consideration  of  the  second  way  in  which  man  has  come  in 
contact  with  the  fur  seals,  namely,  by  hunting  and  killing'  them  at  sea.  Pelagic  sealing, 
as  it  is  called,  means  the  taking  of  seals  at  sea,  either  on  their  migrations  or  on 
their  food  excursions  to  and  from  their  breeding  grounds.  It  is  necessarily  indiscrim- 
inate in  its  character,  animals  of  both  sexes  and  every  age  and  condition  being  taken. 
The  animals  are  killed  both  by  the  spear  and  with  firearms. 

THE  HUNTING  OF  THE  INDIANS. 

From  the  earliest  times  the  natives  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Flattery  and  Vancouver 
Island  have  been  accustomed  to  hunt  the  fur  seal  in  their  dugout  canoes,  going  out 
from  shore  for  this  purpose  a  distance  of  10  to  30  miles.  It  is  probable  that  this 
hunting  has  existed  as  long  as  Indians  have  occupied  these  regions  and  fur  seals  have 
annually  passed  their  shores.  The  taking  of  the  fur  seals  was  at  first  doubtless  asso- 
ciated with  the  hunting  of  the  sea  otter,  and  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  flesh  of 
the  seal  rather  than  its  fur  was  the  original  object  of  its  capture. 

With  the  decline  of  the  sea  otter  and  the  various  laud  furs,  the  skin  of  the  fur 
seal  came  to  have  a  value  and  found  its  way  into  the  markets  through  the  hands  of 
the  traders.  In  time  the  taking  of  fur  seals  became  the  object  of  special  attention, 
and  the  plan  was  developed  of  transporting  the  Indians  and  their  canoes  to  the 
sealing  grounds  by  means  of  sailing  vessels,  thus  enabling  them  to  carry  on  their 
operations  consecutively  and  over  a  wider  area. 

THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  VESSELS. 

This  first  use  of  vessels  in  hunting  the  fur  seals  dates  from  about  the  year  1872, 
and  for  several  years  the  number  employed  was  small,  probably  not  exceeding  five  or 
six  before  1879.  By  their  means  the  hunters  were  able  to  reach  a  distance  of  from  75 
to  100  miles  from  shore  and  to  follow  the  herd  on  its  northward  journey  to  the  breeding 
grounds.  From  1879  onward  the  number  of  vessels  engaged  in  pelagic  sealing 
increased  rapidly.  In  1880  the  fleet  numbered  16  vessels,  making  another  bound  to 
34  vessels  in  1886,  this  second  increase  being  due  to  the  opening  up  of  Bering  Sea 
in  1883,1  when  the  schooner  City  of  San  Diego  took  a  catch  of  between  2,000  and  3,000 
skins  there. 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  THE  INDUSTRY. 

After  the  introduction  of  vessels  there  was  a  steady  expansion  of  the  territory 
covered  by  sealing  operations.  The  fleet  gradually  began  to  go  south  of  Cape  Flattery 


1  Since  this  was  written  there  has  come  into  the  possession  of  Mr.  Charles  H.Townsend  the  log  of 
the  schooner  San  Diego  (often  oonfusod  with  the  City  of  San  Diego,  another  vessel),  which  shows  that  she 
took  a  catch  of  seals  in  Bering  Sea  iu  1880.  See  Mr.  Townsend's  paper  on  Pelagic  Sealing,  in  Part  III. 

142 


METHODS    OF   PELAGIC    SEALING.  143 

to  meet  the  herd  before  it  reached  that  point,  and  the  hunters  followed  its  course 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  Kiver  to  the  passes  of  the  Aleutian  Islands,  finally 
entering  Bering  Sea,  and  continuing  their  operations  on  the  summer  feeding  grounds 
of  the  animals. 

THE  USE  OF  FIREARMS. 

Before  the  year  1886  Indian  hunters  were  used  exclusively,  and  the  primitive 
methods  of  the  spear  and  the  canoe  were  employed.  But  with  the  great  increase  of 
the  fleet  it  was  necessary  to  employ  white  hunters,  and  as  these  could  not  compete 
with  the  Indians  in  the  use  of  the  spear,  firearms  were  introduced,  the  rifle  first,  and 
afterwards  the  shotgun  loaded  with  buckshot.  The  use  of  the  rifle  resulted  in  a  great 
loss  by  sinking  of  the  seals  killed.  The  shotgun  proved  more  effective,  though  many 
seals  were  still  lost,  especially  at  first,  before  the  hunters  had  learned  to  avoid  piercing 
the  lungs. 

The  development  of  pelagic  sealing  in  Bering  Sea  after  1886  was  a  steady  growth, 
though  the  number  of  vessels  fluctuated  on  account  of  seizures  by  the  American 
authorities.  In  1891  the  fleet  numbered  115  vessels. 

THE  MODUS  VIVENDI. 

Iii  this  year  a  modus  vivendi  was  declared,  closing  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  to 
pelagic  sealing.  The  measure  was  put  into  force  too  late  in  the  season  of  1891  to 
prevent  the  fleet  from  entering  upon  its  work.  It  had,  therefore,  at  best  only  a 
deterrent  effect.  As  a  result  of  being  warned  out  of  the  sea,  certain  vessels  crossed 
over  to  the  Asiatic  side  and  obtained  seals  there.  On  this  account,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  the  modus  vivendi  was  renewed  in  1892  and  made  effective,  the  pelagic 
fleet  in  that  year  was  increased  to  122  vessels.  More  vessels  engaged  in  sealing  on 
the  Asiatic  side,  and  in  1893,  still  under  the  modus  vivendi,  the  bulk  of  the  sealing 
was  transferred  to  the  Commander  herd,  66,000  skins  in  all  being  taken  from  Asiatic 
waters. 

THE  REGULATIONS  OF  THE  PARIS  AWARD. 

Bering  Sea  was  opened  again  in  1894  under  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  Tribunal 
and  the  largest  catch  ever  made  in  these  waters  was  taken.  Since  this  date  sealing 
has  continued  under  certain  limitations,  the  chief  of  which  are  a  closed  zone  of  60 
miles  about  the  islands  and  a  closed  season  from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  August. 
The  decline  in  the  herd  has  effected  a  decline  in  pelagic  sealing  itself.  During  the 
season  of  1897  less  than  half  the  vessels  engaged  in  sealing  in  1896  entered  the  sea 
and  the  catch  from  all  sources  for  that  season  was  but  little  more  than  one-half.  From 
a  fleet  of  nearly  100  vessels  in  1894  the  sealing  vessels  have  diminished  to  less  than 
30  in  1897. 

THE  SEALING  VESSELS. 

The  vessels  comprising  the  pelagic  fleet  are  sailing  schooners  ranging  in  size  from 
25  to  125  tons  burden.  Each  vessel  carries  a  crew  of  from  ten  to  fifty  men  with  from 
half  a  dozen  to  twenty  boats  or  canoes.  Boats  are  used  where  white  hunters  are 
employed.  The  Indians  use  their  own  canoes. 

Each  boat  is  manned  by  three  men,  two  hunters,  armed  with  rifles  or  shotguns 
or  both,  and  a  rower  to  manage  the  boat.  The  Indians  hunt  with  two  men  in  a  canoe, 
one  a  steerer  to  manage  the  craft  and  the  other  the  hunter  to  throw  the  spear. 


144  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

METHODS  OF  SEALING. 

When  the  schooner  comes  into  sealing  territory  and  the  weather  is  favorable,  her 
boats  or  canoes  are  lowered  and  sent  in  search  of  seals.  They  go  to  the  windward  and 
at  slightly  different  angles ;  the  vessel  follows  tinder  slow  sail  trying  to  keep  in 
sight  of  the  boats.  Night  or  the  approach  of  bad  weather  drives  in  the  boats 
with  their  catch  of  the  day  whatever  it  may  be. 

THE  SEALS  AS  FOUND. 

Seals  at  sea  are  designated  in  three  different  classes.  When  found  in  motion  they 
are  called  "travelers."  When  at  rest  they  are  called  "  sleepers."  Sometimes  resting 
seals  are  awake,  but  listlessly  floating  on  the  water,  and  from  the  movement  of  their 
flippers  they  are  said  to  be  "finning." 

METHODS  OF  CAPTURE. 
THE   SPEAR. 

In  favorable  weather  seals  are  found  sleeping  between  the  hours  from  9  o'clock  in 
the  morning  until  5  or  G  in  the  evening.  In  stormy  weather  the  seals  can  not  rest  and 
so  sleep  more  soundly  in  the  first  good  weather  after  a  storm.  Sleeping  seals  are  as 
a  rule  taken  with  the  spear.  Mr.  A.  B.  Alexander  has  given  us  the  following  graphic 
account  of  the  operation : l 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  we  saw  our  first  seal  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead.  The  canoe  was 
kept  off  under  its  lee,  the  sail  taken  in,  and  every  tiling  put  in  readiness  for  action.  Cautiously  we 
paddled  toward  the  prey,  care  being  taken  not  to  make  the  slightest  noise.  We  approached  within 
about  40  feet  when  the  seal  began  to  grow  restless,  as  if  it  was  dreaming  of  danger.  The  hunter 
stood  braced,  spear  in  hand,  and  with  true  aim  he  hurled  it  with  all  his  force  at  the  sleeping  object. 
In  an  instant  the  scene  of  repose  was  changed  into  one  of  intense  excitement  and  pain.  With  a  jump 
the  seal  instantly  disappeared  below  the  surface,  but  not  to  escape,  for  when  once  a  spear  becomes 
fastened  to  an  object  it  seldom  pulls  out.  Soon  it  came  up  to  breathe  and  renew  its  desperate 
struggle  for  liberty.  It  stood  in  the  water  facing  us,  with  its  body  half  exposed  as  if  taking  in  the 
situation,  and  with  a  kind  of  low  piteous  growl,  as  though  it  realized  its  end  was  near,  it  renewed  the 
contest.  It  fought  madly,  diving,  jumping,  and  swimming  with  great  speed,  first  in  one  direction, 
then  in  another,  sometimes  on  one  side  of  the  canoe  and  then  on  the  other,  the  Indian  all  the  time 
holding  the  spear  rope,  trying  to  draw  the  seal  near  the  canoe  so  as  to  strike  it  on  the  head  with  the 
killing  club.  In  its  frantic  efforts  to  escape,  it  bit  at  the  line  several  times,  but  soon  abandoned  the 
idea  of  gaining  its  freedom  in  such  a  manner  and  again  resorted  to  jumping  and  diving.  The  loss 
of  blood  soon  caused  it  to  grow  weak,  and  after  a  fight,  which  lasted  perhaps  five  minutes,  it  ceased 
to  struggle  altogether  and  was  hauled  to  the  side  of  the  canoe  and  dispatched  with  the  club. 

THE   SHOOTING   OF   SEALS. 

Traveling  seals  are  taken  by  shooting.  Sleeping  seals  are  of  course  shot  also,  but 
with  these  animals  the  spear  is  more  effective  since  they  are  frequently  found  sleeping 
in  groups.  To  shoot  into  one  of  these  groups  means  the  taking  of  but  one  animal,  and 
the  report  startles  all  the  other  seals  in  the  vicinity.  With  the  spear  but  little  noise 
is  made. 

Where  the  traveling  seal  is  jumping  clear  of  the  water,  "breaching,"  as  it  is  called, 
the  rifle  is  used,  as  the  shot  must  be  made  at  longer  range.  Where  the  seal  is  within 
close  range  or  can  be  approached,  as  when  it  is  asleep,  the  shotgun  discharging  buck- 
shot is  used.  The  aim  is  for  the  head  or  breast  of  the  animal. 

]  Proc.  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Vol.  9,  p.  346. 


SHOTGUN    AND    SPEAR.  145 

The  following  description  of  the  methods  of  taking  seals  is  given  by  Lieutenant 
Quinan,1  of  the  revenue-cutter  Cor  win,  in  relating  his  experience  in  a  canoe  with 
Indian  hunters  off  Sitka  Sound,  May  1,  1892. 

We  bad  pulled  several  miles  "without  seeing  anything,  when  suddenly  the  steersman  gave  the 
canoe  a  shake  and  pointed  in  silence  to  a  seal  75  yards  distant.  The  bowman  took  in  his 

oars  and  substituted  the  paddle,  and  the  canoe  glided  noiselessly  toward  the  unconscious  seal.  When 
within  40  yards  of  it  the  after  paddle  alone  was  used  and  the  bowman  stood  ready  with  the  shotgun. 
During  all  this  time  not  a  word  was  spoken,  and  so  noiselessly  did  the  canoe  glide  that  we 
got  within  10  yards  of  it  and  the  hunter  fired,  pouring  a  charge  of  buckshot  into  its  breast.  The  seal, 
to  my  great  astonishment,  was  not  killed,  but  gave  us  a  surprised  look,  and  instantly  dived  out  of 
sight.  It  rose  again  50  yards  off,  gave  us  another  look,  and  a  second  time  disappeared.  Then  followed 
a  chase  to  windward,  the  Indians  dexterously  applying  their  paddles  in  that  direction.  Three  times 
it  disappeared  and  reappeared  before  it  was  finally  shot  and  captured.  Even  then  it  was  necessary 
to  use  the  club  to  kill  it.  One  hook  with  the  gaft',  a  sudden  pull,  and  the  unfortunate  seal  was  in  the 
canoe. 

LOSS   RESULTING  FROM   SHOOTING. 

It  is  plain  that  by  the  method  of  shooting  a  certain  percentage  of  loss  results 
from  the  wounding  of  animals  and  also  from  the  sinking  of  animals  before  they  can 
be  recovered.  That  many  of  the  wounded  animals  escape  is  shown  by  the  consid- 
erable number  of  bachelors  on  the  hauling  grounds  which  carry  buckshot  in  their 
bodies.  At  each  killing  the  natives  gather  up  a  collection  of  slugs.  That  other 
animals  escape  only  to  die  later  on  may  reasonably  be  inferred.  In  the  summer  of 
1890  several  seals  wounded  by  shooting  were  known  to  die  after  coming  ashore  on 
the  rookeries.-  What  the  percentage  of  loss  may  be  which  thus  results  can  not  be 
determined.  The  hunters  themselves  can  not  tell  what  effect  their  shots  produce, 
where  the  animal  is  not  recovered.  It  may  escape  unhurt,  may  have  been  slightly 
wounded  and  thus  likely  to  recover,  or  so  seriously  injured  as  to  cause  it  to  give  up 
later  on  and  die. 

The  greatest  loss  probably  results  from  the  use  of  the  rifle.  Where  the  range 
is  considerable  and  the  animal  is  killed  instantly  it  sinks  out  of  reach  before  the  boat 
can  get  it.  With  the  shotgun  the  same  result  is  likely  to  occur,  but  the  range  being 
shorter  not  so  many  animals  are  lost.  Of  late  years  the  loss  of  shot  seals  has  been 
greatly  diminished,  because  it  has  been  found  that  when  the  animal  is  shot  in  the 
head  or  neck  and  the  lungs  left  full  of  air  the  body  does  not  sink  so  rapidly. 

THE  SPEAR  LEAST  WASTEFUL. 

With  the  spear  the  loss  must  be  very  slight.  Where  the  animal  escapes  by  the 
tearing  out  of  the  spearhead  it  doubtless  recovers,  but  these  instances  are  rare. 
That  some  animals  escape  through  the  breaking  of  the  line  attached  to  the  spear- 
head is  shown  by  the  number  of  these  weapons  picked  up  on  the  rookeries.  Two 
spearheads  with  the  lines  attached  were  found  fastened  in  the  rocks  on  Zapadni 
rookery  of  St.  Paul  in  1896.  The  lines  had  become  fast  and  the  animals  had  torn 
themselves  loose.  During  the  past  season  a  cow  came  ashore  on  St.  Paul  with  a 
spearhead  through  her  back  which,  while  it  did  not  kill  her,  left  her  crippled  and 
useless. 3 


1  Proc.  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  vol.  9,  p.  351. 

2  See  Daily  Journal,  Part  II,  date  of  July  25,  1896. 

3  See  Daily  Journal,  Part  II,  date  of  August  15,  1897. 
15181 10 


146  THE    FUK    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Of  the  two  methods  of  killing  the  seals  at  sea  the  spear  is  the  surest  aiid  results 
in  the  least  waste.  Both  methods  have  their  special  fields,  however,  and  the 
regulations  under  which  pelagic  sealing  is  now  carried  on,  as  if  designed  expressly 
for  the  pelagic  sealer,  recognizes  them  clearly.  Thus,  when  the  seals  are  on  their 
migrations  and  consequently  alternately  traveling  and  resting  both  firearms  and 
spears  are  allowed.  For  the  traveling  seal  the  gun  can  be  used;  for  the  sleeping 
seal  the  spear.  On  the  feeding  grounds  in  Bering  Sea  only  the  spear  is  allowed. 
There  the  animals  are  found  almost  exclusively  sleeping  or  feeding.  The  noise  of  the 
gun  would  be  a  positive  disadvantage,  as  it  would  startle  all  the  seals  in  the  vicinity. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  herd  both  methods  are  deadly,  the  difference  being 
merely  one  of  degree. 

NORTHWEST  COAST  SEALING. 

Pelagic  sealing  is  carried  on  in  two  distinct  areas  and  at  two  distinct  seasons. 
While  the  seals  are  on  their  return  migration  along  the  American  shore  they  are  met 
by  the  pelagic  fleet  off  the  coast  of  California  at  about  the  latitude  of  Point 
Conception.  From  here  northward  to  the  vicinity  of  Middleton  Island  the  herd  is 
followed  by  the  pelagic  fleet.  Formerly  seals  were  also  taken  along  the  coast  of  the 
Alaskan  peninsula  to  the  passes  by  which  they  entered  Bering  Sea.  At  present 
the  closed  season  begining  in  May  shuts  off  this  catch. 

BERING  SEA  SEALING. 

In  Bering  Sea  sealing  is  carried  on  in  the  summer  feeding  grounds  of  the  fur 
seals.  These  grounds  are  located  from  100  to  200  miles  distant  from  the  islands  and 
lie  chiefly  to  the  westward  and  southward  in  the  deep  water  off  the  100-fathom  curve. 
They  are  frequented  chiefly  by  the  female  seals  which  leave  the  rookeries  at  regular 
intervals  during  the  summer  to  feed,  returning  to  nourish  their  offspring. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  go  into  greater  detail  regarding  these  matters  nor  to 
mention  the  sealing  grounds  of  the  Commander  Island  herd.  These  matters  are  all 
taken  up  in  detail  by  Mr.  Townsend  in  a  special  paper  which  appears  elsewhere  in 
Part  III  of  this  report. 

THE  PELAGIC  CATCH. 

In  the  statistical  appendix  to  the  present  volume  will  be  found  a  detailed  table  of 
the  pelagic  catch  from  the  various  hunting  grounds.  From  this  table  we  may  here 
give  the  following  summary: 

Total  pelat/ic  catch  in  all  waters,  1868-1897. 
Pribilof  herd: 

Northwest  coast 395,  880 

Bering  Sea 240,908 


636,  788 
Commander  herd :  Japan  and  Russian  coasts 256,  259 


Total 893,047 


EFFECT    OF    MODUS   VIVENDI.  147 

Iii  addition  to  this  total  there  are  95,000  skins  which  have  been  taken,  but  for 
which  the  definite  locality  of  capture  has  not  been  determined,  making  a  grand  total 
of  988,047  animals,  or  approximately  1,000,000  seals,  known  to  have  been  killed  at  sea 
from  the  combined  Russian  and  American  herds. 

THIS  DOES  NOT  INCLUDE  SEALS  KILLED  BUT  LOST. 

The  figures  just  given  include  only  animals  actually  secured  and  whose  skins  were 
brought  to  market.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to  form  any  estimate  of  the  number 
of  animals  which  escaped  to  die  of  their  wounds,  or  of  those  killed  outright,  whose 
bodies  sank  before  they  could  be  secured.  The  loss  arising  from  these  sources  is 
considerable  even  at  the  present  time,  where  firearms  are  used,  and  in  the  early  days 
of  their  use  it  must  have  been  very  great. 

EARLY  SEALING  CONFINED  TO  PRIBILOF  HERD. 

Until  the  year  1891  all  pelagic  sealing  was  confined  to  the  Pribilof  herd,  and  prior 
to  the  year  1883  all  the  seals  were  taken  off  the  Northwest  coast.  After  1883  sealing 
in  Bering  Sea  was  added.  In  1891  a  modus  vivendi  was  declared  on  June  15,  designed 
to  close  Bering  Sea.1  This  measure  was  renewed  in  the  two  succeeding  years,  pending 
the  results  of  the  Arbitration  Tribunal.  It  may  be  remarked  in  this  connection  that 
the  importance  of  this  modus  vivendi  of  1891-1893,  in  its  relation  to  the  herd,  was  not 
great.  Its  promulgation  in  1891  was  too  late  to  make  it  effective,  as  the  fact  that  the 
herd  lost  19,000  more  seals  at  sea  in  that  year  than  in  1890  abundantly  shows.  In  1892 
it  merely  checked  the  increase  of  the  catch,  leaving  it  still  6,000  more  than  it  was 
before  the  measure  was  put  into  effect.  In  1893,  when  the  catch  fell  to  30,000,  which 
was  but  10,000  less  than  the  catch  of  1890,  the  herd  derived  some  benefit.  Of  course, 
if  Ave  take  into  account  what  the  herd  might  have  lost  through  the  increase  of  the 
catch  in  this  period,  the  benefit  to  the  herd  was  greater.  But  it  was  at  best  only  a 
postponement  of  the  loss,  as  in  1894  the  catch  rose  immediately  to  61,000 — double  that 
of  1893 — and  was  in  1895  still  16,000  greater  than  the  catch  of  1890 ;  its  decline  since 
that  time  has  been  due  to  the  diminishing  herd. 

THE  SUSPENSION  OF  LAND  KILLING. 

On  the  other  hand  the  suspension  of  killing  on  laud  only  released  young  males  to 
grow  up  which  are  now,  as  idle  and  superfluous  bulls,  a  menace  to  the  rookeries.  Iii 
the  case  of  the  pelagic  sealers  the  measure  only  postponed  the  time  of  taking  the  seals, 
as  the  females  which  escape  in  one  season  are  still  available  the  next,  while  on  land 
the  young  males  released  were  irrevocably  lost  to  the  Government  and  the  lessees, 
because  before  normal  conditions  were  resumed  they  had  taken  on  the  wig  of  the  half 
bull,  and  their  skins  became  of  no  value.  The  suspension  of  land  and  sea  killing, 
therefore,  during  the  modus  viveudi,  was  at  best  of  very  doubtful  value. 

MODUS  VIVENDI  TRANSFERRED  SEALING  TO  ASIATIC  SIDE. 

The  modus  vivendi,  however,  had  this  effect:  It  influenced  a  certain  number  of 
sealing  vessels  to  try  their  luck  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  These,  in 


1  See  footnote  to  page  144  of  this  volume. 


148 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


181)1,  took  a  small  catch  of  8,000  seals  from  the  Commander  herd.  In  1892,  when  the 
modus  viveudi  was  renewed  and  made  effective,  a  larger  number  of  vessels  crossed 
over  at  the  close  of  the  spring  sealing  off  the  Northwest  Coast;  and  in  1893,  Bering  Sea 
being  again  closed,  the  greater  part  of  the  sealing  was  transferred  to  the  Asiatic  side. 
The  growth  of  the  catch  from  the  Commander  Island  herd  was  very  rapid.  Beginning 
with  8,000  skins  in  1891,  it  numbered  66,000  skins  in  1893. 

THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  CATCH. 

During  the  period  from  1868  to  1880  the  pelagic  catch  was  merely  nominal,  ranging 
from  four  to  five  thousand  skins  yearly.  With  the  year  1881  it  increased  steadily 
until  1894,  when  the  maximum  was  reached  in  a  catch  of  141,143  skins.  Since  that 
year  it  has  rapidly  declined  to  a  total  of  about  39,000  skins  in  the  season  of  1897. 

The  following  table  will  make  clear  the  fact  of  this  decline: 


Year. 

Pribilof 
herd. 

Commander 
herd. 

1894... 

61,  838 

79,  305 

1895  

56,291 

37,  035 

1896  

43,  917 

24,  191 

1897  

24,  321 

13,801 

UNFAVORABLE  WEATHER  NOT  THE  CAUSE  OF  DECLINE. 

The  decline  in  the  pelagic  catch  has  been  explained  by  the  sealers  as  due  to 
unfavorable  weather1  and  ill  luck  in  locating  the  animals  rather  than  to  any  lack  of 
seals.  It  is  unnecessary  here  to  discuss  the  matter  at  length.  Keference  to  Mr. 
Townsend's  notes  and  tables  of  daily  catches,  published  in  Part  III  of  this  report,  will 
show  clearly  enough  that  no  marked  difference  has  existed  between  the  weather 
conditions  of  recent  seasons  and  those  of  earlier  ones.  The  real  cause  of  the  decline 
in  the  pelagic  catch,  of  course,  is  the  depleted  condition  of  the  herd.  With  a  herd 
reduced  to  less  than  one-fifth  its  original  size  it  could  not  be  reasonably  expected 
that  the  usual  number  of  animals  could  be  found  at  sea. 

PELAGIC  KILLING  AND  LAND  KILLING  COMPARED. 

It  will  help  us  to  arrive  at  a  just  appreciation  of  the  relation  of  pelagic  sealing  to 
the  history  of  the  fur-seal  herd  if  we  compare  its  catch  with  that  taken  on  the  islands. 
In  the  following  table  we  have  this  comparison  fully  set  forth.  There  is  given,  in 
addition  to  the  total  number  of  males  killed  for  all  purposes,  the  date  at  which  the 
quota  was  each  year  filled,  the  number  of  hauling  grounds  which  it  was  necessary  to 
drive  from,  and  the  number  of  drives  required.  These  are  taken  from  the  records  of 
the  islands.  The  statistics  of  the  pelagic  catch  are  taken  from  the  official  data  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  which  is  given  in  full  in  Appendix  I. 


1  Ber.  Sea  Quest.,  Dept.  Marine  and  Fisheries,  Ottawa,  1896,  Yenning,  p.  16. 


STATISTICS    OF    LAND   AND    SEA    KILLING. 


Statistics  regarding  land  and  sea  killing,  1S71-1891 


149 


Date 
Year.                            quota 
filled.' 

Hauliug     Number 
grounds          of 
driven.1     drives.' 

Killed  on       Killed 
land.2          at  sea. 

1871  

July  28 
July  25 
July  24 
July  17 
July  16 
Aug.    1s 
July  14 
July  18 
July  16 
July  17 
July  20 
July  20 
July  19 
July  21 
July  27 
July  26 
July  24 
JulV  27 
Jul'v  31 
July  2(H 

46 
43 
51 
61 
55 
36 
44 
54 
71 
78 
99 
86 
81 
101 
106 
117 
101 
102 
110 
87 
(') 
(b) 
(*) 

43 
30 
37 
41 
37 
30 
32 
35 
36 
38 
34 
36 
39 
42 
63 
74 
66 
73 
74 
55 
(5) 
(5) 
(6) 

102,  970 
108,819 
109,  177 
110,585 
106,  460 
94,  657 
84,  310 
109,  323 
110,411 
105,  718 
105.  063 
99,  812 
79,509 
105,  434 
105,  024 
104,  521 
105,  760 
103,  304 
102,  617 
28,  059 
12,  040 
7,511 
7,396 
16,  270 
14,  846 
30,  654 
19,200 

16,911 
5,336 
5,229 
5,873 
5,033 
5,515 
5,210 
5,544 
8,557 
8,418 
10,  382 
15,  551 
16,  557 
16,  971 
23,  040 
28,  494 
30,  628 
26,  189 
29,  858 
40,  814 
59,568 
46,642 
30,  812 
61,  8H8 
56,  291 
43,  917 
24.321 

1872  

1873       

1874  

1875  

1876  

1877  

1878  

1879  

1880          

J881  

1882  

1883     

1884  

1885     

1886  

1887  

1888  

1889.                      .     .   . 

1890  

1891 

1892  

1893  

1894  

1895 

Aug.    4 
July  27 
July  27 
Aug.    7 

1896  

31                21 
42                27 

1897  

1  These  figures  refer  only  to  the  hauling  grounds  of  St.  Paul. 

a  These  totals  include  all  males  killed  for  any  purpose  on  the  islands. 

sln  1876  the  killing  was  closed  at  an  unusual  date,  said  to  be  on  account  of  an  exceptionally  late  season. 

4  Closed  by  order  of  the  agent  in  charge. 

'Years  of  the  modus  vivendi. 

THE  PERIOD  FROM  1871-1882. 

For  purposes  of  study  we  may  divide  this  record  into  two  sections,  the  first 
covering  the  period  to  and  including  1882.  During  this  time  we  find  that  the  number 
of  animals  taken  on  land  as  well  as  at  sea  was  each  year  relatively  constant,  the  former 
being  maintained  at  a  maximum,  the  latter  at  a  minimum.  We  find  that  from  1874  to 
the  close  of  this  period  the  requisite  number  of  killable  seals  could  be  procured  at  such 
an  early  date  as  to  clearly  indicate  that  no  difficulty  was  experienced  in  tilling  the 
quota.  During  the  whole  of  this  time  the  number  of  drives  and  hauling  grounds 
driven  from  was  uniform  and  normal.  In  short,  all  the  evidence  goes  to  show  that  the 
herd  was  in  a  state  of  practical  equilibrium,  neither  increasing  nor  diminishing  to  any 
marked  degree.  The  reduction  of  the  number  of  animals  killed  on  land  in  the  last 
year  of  this  period  has  already  been  discussed  in  its  appropriate  place.  It  has  no 
significance  here. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  THE  CATCH. 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  in  the  record  of  pelagic  sealing  that  from  a  normal  catch 
of  slightly  over  5,000,  covering  a  period  of  eight  years,  it  advanced  to  8,000  in  1880  and 
to  15,000  the  closing  year  of  the  period.  This  latter  fact  is  significant. 

RELATION  OF  GAINS  AND  LOSSES  IN  THE  HERD. 

We  have  already  shown  that  the  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  is  determined  by 
the  relation  of  its  gains  and  losses.  Its  losses  are  of  two  kinds,  natural  and  artificial. 
We  may  class  as  natural  those  losses  arising  from  old  age,  accidents  of  the  sea,  or  the 


150  THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

struggles  on  the  rookeries.  The  sole  artificial  loss  to  which  the  herd  has  been  sub- 
jected is  that  resulting  from  pelagic  sealing.  We  may  assume  that  the  natural  losses 
of  the  herd  were  in  these  early  days,  as  now,  constant  and  uniform.  With  the  small 
added  loss  resulting  from  pelagic  sealing  they  balanced  the  gain  of  the  herd  due  to  the 
influx  of  young  breeders.  It  may  be  that  the  loss  entailed  by  the  pelagic  catch  was 
the  final  determining  check  on  the  herd's  increase.  As  we  have  seen,  in  the  last  year 
of  the  period  we  are  considering,  this  pelagic  catch  was  trebled. 

PERIOD  SUBSEQUENT  TO  1882. 

If  now  we  take  into  consideration  the  period  subsequent  to  1882  we  find  that  this 
increase  in  the  pelagic  catch  was  maintained  and  steadily  augmented  until  at  its 
maximum  in  the  year  1894  it  exceeded  by  twelve  times  the  normal  size  of  the  catch  in 
the  former  period  of  equilibrium.  On  the  other  hand,  we  find  the  land  catch  which  was 
maintained  at  its  normal  rate  until  the  year  1889,  suddenly  fell  to  one-fifth  its  size  in 
1890,  and  has  remained  there  since. 

EXPANSION  OF  PELAGIC,  DECREASE  OF  LAND  SEALING. 

From  a  study  of  these  statistics  two  important  facts  are  made  clear :  First,  that 
there  has  been  since  1880  an  enormous  expansion  of  pelagic  sealing;  second,  that  there 
has  been  in  the  s'ame  period  a  marked  decrease  in  the  product  of  land  sealing.  From 
what  we  know  of  the  nature  of  the  two  industries  and  their  effect  on  the  herd  we  are 
prepared  to  find  these  two  facts  related  to  each  other  as  cause  and  effect. 

We  need  not  repeat  here  the  proof  that  laud  killing  has  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  decline  of  the  herd.  It  must  be  pointed  out,  however,  that  land  killing  is  strictly 
dependent  upon  the  condition  of  the  breeding  herd.  The  quota  of  any  given  year 
represents  the  male  animals  which  survive  to  the  age  of  three  years  from  a  given 
birthrate.  As  the  quota  of  males  is,  so  will  be  the  increment  of  young  breeders  which 
the  herd  receives.  A  diminished  quota  therefore  means  a  diminished  gain  to  the 
breeding  herd  for  the  same  year. 

CAUSE  OF  DECREASE  TO  BE  SOUGHT  IN  THE  BREEDING  HERD. 

Naturally,  the  cause  of  any  diminution  in  the  supply  of  killable  seals  must  be 
sought  for  in  the  condition  of  the  breeding  herd  three  years  previous.  From  this  fact 
it  becomes  apparent  that  for  the  cause  of  the  enormous  reduction  in  the  bachelor  herd 
seen  in  the  quota  of  1890  we  must  look  back  to  the  year  1887,  and  inasmuch  as  the 
decline  in  the  bachelor  herd  was  great  and  alarming  in  1890,  the  depletion  of  the 
breeding  herd  in  1887,  when  the  seals  for  this  quota  were  born,  must  have  been  equally 
great  and  striking.  The  date  of  the  decline  in  the  herd  must,  therefore,  fall  prior  to 
the  year  1887. 

From  what  has  been  said  about  the  relation  of  the  bachelor  herd  to  the  breeding 
herd  it  must  also  be  plain  that  no  serious  diminution  had  occurred  in  the  birth  rate 
prior  to  1882,  else  it  would  not  have  been  possible  to  maintain,  as  was  done  until  1889, 
by  any  possible  means  the  killing  of  100,000  animals  of  no  matter  what  age  or  size. 

THE   BEGINNING   OF    THE   DECLINE. 

We  may  therefore  assume  that  the  decrease  in  the  breeding  herd  began  some- 
where between  1880  and  1887-.  It  is  impossible  to  locate  the  exact  date.  We  have 


EFFECTS    OF    PELAGIC    KILLING. 


151 


assumed  the  years  1882-1885  as  the  approximate  date,  because  in  the  latter  year  it 
was  necessary  to  greatly  increase  the  number  of  drives  and  the  number  of  hauling 
grounds  driven  from  to  get  the  regular  quota.  This  will  be  apparent  from  an  inspec- 
tion of  the  preceding  table.  The  cause  of  this  scarcity  of  killable  seals  must  neces- 
sarily date  back  three  years,  or  to  1882.  Moreover,  within  this  period  occurred  the 
extension  of  the  operations  of  pelagic  sealing  into  Bering  Sea.  Again,  in  the  year 
1882,  the  pelagic  catch  was  trebled  in  size  and  thereafter  continued  to  increase,  while 
from  the  steady  retardation  of  the  date  at  which  the  quota  could  be  filled  and  the 
increased  number  of  drives  necessary,  the  bachelor  herd  as  steadily  declined. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  AS  A  CHECK  FROM   1871-1880. 

During  the  long  period  from  1871  to  1880,  we  may  infer  that  the  pelagic  catch 
had  no  influence  on  the  herd  except  perhaps  with  other  causes  to  neutralize  possible 
increase.  With  the  rise  of  the  catch  to  15,000  in  1882,  we  may  assume  that  the  strain 
was  too  great  and  that  the  equilibrium  was  broken.  The  further  increase  to  24,000 
in  1885  intensified  the  decline,  and  when  in  1887  the  pelagic  catch  reached  46,000  it 
became  serious. 

In  estimating  the  influence  of  the  pelagic  catch  in  these  early  days  it  must 
always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  catch  as  recorded  is  only  a  part  of  the  loss  which 
the  herd  sustained  through  pelagic  sealing.  It  will  never  be  possible  to  estimate  the 
loss,  due  to  the  killing  of  animals  which  were  not  recovered,  but  that  it  was  great  we 
have  no  reason  to  doubt,  and  it  must  not  be  left  out  of  the  account. 

IRREGULAR  QUOTA  SINCE  1890. 

Since  the  year  1890  the  results  of  land  killing  can  not  be  taken  as  an  index  of  the 
condition  of  the  herd  from  year  to  year.  In  the  years  1891-1893  land  killing  was 
arbitrarily  contracted  under  the  modus  vivendi.  The  quotas  of  1894  and  1895  were 
influenced  by  the  changed  methods  of  driving  practiced  in  these  years,  and  by  the 
heavy  pelagic  catches  of  1890  and  1891  resulting  in  the  starvation  of  pups  in  these 
years.  The  quotas  of  1896  and  1897  have  been  in  turn  slightly  influenced  by  the 
protection  afforded  by  the  modus  vivendi,  which  reduced  in  a  measure  the  pelagic 
catch  of  1892  and  1893,  thus  saving  pups  from  starvation.  The  results  of  the  heavy 
pelagic  catches  of  1895  and  1896  have  yet  to  show  themselves  in  the  coming  quotas 
of  1898  and  1899. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  AND  THE  COMMANDER  HERD. 

We  may  here,  for  the  sake  of  illustration,  compare  similarly  the  land  and  sea 
catches  from  the  Commander  herd.  Pelagic  sealing  began  on  this  herd  in  1891.  As 
the  fleet  was  a  large  one,  its  results  have  been  more  rapid  and  disastrous  than  in 
connection  with  the  Pribilof  herd.  The  following  are  the  comparative  figures: 

Pelagic  catch  of  Commander  lierd,  1891-1897. 


Tear. 

Sea 
killing. 

Land 
killing. 

Tear. 

Sea 
killing. 

Land 
killing. 

1891 

8  432 

36,  815 

1895  

37,  035 

17,719 

1892 

26  752 

31  244 

1896  

24,  191 

13,  516 

1893 

66,  143 

32,  786 

1897  

13,801 

1  1,  335 

1894  

79,  305 

27,287 

1 

152  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PBIBILOP    ISLANDS. 

THE    INTERRELATION  OF  PELAGIC  AND  LAND  CATCHES. 

The  relation  of  the  pelagic  catch  to  the  land  catch  is  here  well  illustrated.  The 
catch  in  1891  was  small.  Its  effect  on  the  bachelor  herd  was  slight  and  together  with 
the  larger  catch  of  1892  accounts  for  the  reduction  from  36,000  to  31,000  in  the  land 
catch.  Bearing  in  inind  the  fact  that  the  really  important  effect  of  the  pelagic  catch 
of  any  year  is  only  seen  in  the  herd  of  killable  seals  after  three  years,  we  are  prepared 
to  find  the  first  marked  reduction  in  1895,  and  are  not  disappointed.  The  quota  of 
1895  is  less  than  half  the  quota  of  1891.  Since  1894  the  pelagic  catch  from  the 
Commander  herd  has  rapidly  declined,  showing  how  pelagic  sealing  has  exhausted  its 
own  resources.  Its  catch  of  1897  on  the  Asiatic  side  is  about  one- sixth  the  size  of 
its  catch  for  1894. 

In  the  case  of  the  Pribilof  herd  the  result  has  not  been  so  striking.  As  against 
61,838  seals  taken  in  1894  we  have  24,321  taken  in  1897.  But  the  results  of  the 
modus  vivendi,  the  closed  zone  and  the  closed  season  are  seen  in  this  herd.  The 
Commander  herd  has  had  no  modus  vivendi  or  closed  season,  and  the  protected  zone 
has  been  but  one-half  as  great  as  that  of  the  Pribilof  herd. 

The  example  of  the  Commander  herd  strengthens  the  evidence  in  the  case  of 
the  Pribilof.  With  the  former,  as  with  the  latter,  the  decline  of  the  herd  and  the 
expansion  of  pelagic  sealing  practically  go  together.  If  no  other  proof  was  available 
than  what  these  figures  adduce  we  must  be  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  pelagic 
sealing  has  been  the  cause  of  the  decline. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  INVOLVES  THE  KILLING  OF  FEMALES.        o^ 

111  the  foregoing  discussion  we  have  assumed  for  the  time  being  that  pelagic 
sealing  has  been  the  cause  of  the  decline  in  the  fur-seal  herd.  The  relation  of  the 
laud  catch  to  the  sea  catch  is  such  as  to  lead  inevitably  to  this  conclusion.  But  there 
remain  other  and  better  reasons  for  holding  pelagic  sealing  responsible  for  the 
decline. 

As  has  been  already  shown,  only  males  are  killed  on  land;  the  females  are  not 
disturbed.  On  the  other  hand,  at  sea  animals  of  every  age  and  condition,  and  of 
both  sexes,  are  taken.  In  the  water  it  is  impossible  to  distinguish  the  sexes,  and  all 
animals  seen  are  killed  if  possible.  On  land  the  habits  of  the  animals  are  such  that 
the  males  can  be  readily  separated  and  handled  without  disturbance  to  the  females. 

PELAGIC   SEALING   AND    THE   SEALING   OF   THE   SOUTH   SEAS. 

With  the  above  contrast  between  land  and  sea  killing  in  mind,  we  may  pause  for 
a  moment  to  consider  the  strange  proposition  put  forward  in  the  British  contention 
before  the  Paris  Tribunal,  that  "  the  methods  practiced  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  and 
those  practiced  in  the  southern  hemisphere "  were  parallel  in  results.  This  was  in 
answer  to  the  contention  by  the  United  States  that  pelagic  sealing  was  essentially 
the  same  as  the  sealing  which  destroyed  herds  of  the  Antarctic.  On  the  contrary, 
say  the  British  commissioners  in  1891,  the  history  of  the  rookeries  of  the  south  seas 
proves  incontestably  that  "excessive  slaughter  on  shore  in  the  entire  absence  of 
pelagic  sealing  results  in  commercial  extermination." 1 

The  absence  of  pelagic  sealing  in  the  southern  hemisphere  has  nothing  to  do 
with  the  matter.  It  would  be  absurd  to  expect  pelagic  sealing  there  when  there  was 
nothing  to  prevent  the  sealers  from  landing  and  directly  invading  the  rookeries. 
It  is  safe  to  say  that  there  would  have  been  no  pelagic  sealing  in  the  northern 
hemisphere  had  it  been  possible  for  any  who  might  choose  to  do  so  to  land  and  kill 
females  on  shore. 

METHODS   OF   SOUTHERN    SEALING. 

In  the  case  of  the  rookeries  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  men  armed  with  clubs 
or  firearms  were  landed  on  the  rookeries,  who  killed  all  the  animals  they  could 
secure,  making  no  distinctions  as  to  sex,  age,  or  condition.  In  a  day  or  a  week  they 
returned  to  complete  the  work  of  destruction  if  it  was  not  complete  at  the  first  trial. 
It  must  appear  from  a  candid  contrast  of  such  slaughter  that  it  has  nothing  in 
common  with  land  killing  on  the  Pribilof  Islands  beyond,  perhaps,  the  fact  that 
in  both  cases  the  killing  is  done  on  shore  and  with  a  club. 


1  Rep.  of  Brit.  Coram.,  Fnr  Seal  Arl>.,  vol.  6,  p.  217. 


153 


154  THE  FUR  SEALS  OF  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

Suppose  that  a  crew  of  25  or  30  ineu  were  landed  in  July  oil  Eeef  rookery  of  St. 
Paul;  that  these  men  entered  the  breeding  grounds  and  slaughtered  every  animal 
they  could  reach,  keeping  up  the  operation  day  after  day  as  new  animals  came  ashore 
or  until  no  more  were  found,  returning  the  following  season  to  pick  up  any  remnant 
which  might  be  left.  This  would  be  the  method  of  slaughter  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  transferred  to  the  northern. 

"INDISCRIMINATE,"    NOT   "EXCESSIVE." 

The  trouble  with  the  contention  of  the  British  commissioners  lies  in  the  use  of 
"excessive"  for  u indiscriminate."  It  was  not  the  contention  of  the  United  States 
that  the  land  killing  of  the  south  seas  was  identical  in  method  with  open-sea  killing 
in  the  north,  but  rather  that  the  results  were  identical.  Both  were  indiscriminate 
killing,  and,  as  a  result,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  fate  of  the  southern  rookeries 
would  overtake  those  of  the  north  if  such  slaughter  were  continued.  That  the  herds 
of  the  north  have  lasted  longer  than  those  of  the  south  is  simply  the  results  of  their 
protection  on  land.  Were  it  possible  for  the  pelagic  sealers  to  land  on  the  Pribilof 
and  Commander  islands,  they  could  accomplish  in  one  season  what  it  has  taken  a 
dozen  years  to  accomplish  contending  with  the  uncertainties  of  the  sea. 

PREPONDERANCE  OF  FEMALES. 

Before  the  Paris  Tribunal,  and  even  subsequent  to  it,  the  claim  has  been  made 
that  land  killing  was  excessive  in  its  reduction  of  male  life,  and  had  been  in  large 
measure,  if  not  wholly,  responsible  for  the  decline.  We  have  already  discussed  the 
latter  part  of  this  contention  and  shown  its  untenable  character.  The  fact,  however, 
is  freely  admitted  that  the  killing  on  laud  had  greatly  reduced  the  male  life  of  the 
herd.  The  investigations  of  the  past  season,  showing  that  about  twenty-nine  males 
out  of  thirty  born  are  destined  to  be  superfluous,  indicate  how  this  has  been  possible 
without  affecting  the  herd.  Since  the  islands  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United 
States  nearly  3,000,000  male  seals  have  been  taken  on  land,  while  no  females  whatever 
have  been  killed. 

The  point  we  wish  to  make  clear  is,  that  with  such  an  abstraction  of  male  life  it 
naturally  results  that  the  herd  as  a  whole  under  normal  conditions  must  show  a  large 
excess  of  females.  Notwithstanding  this  self  evident  fact,  it  has  been  persistently 
contended  by  those  interested  in  pelagic  sealing  that  the  pelagic  catch  contained  no 
preponderance  of  females;  that  in  fact  the  sexes  as  found  and  taken  at  sea  were 
practically  equal. 

THE  SEALING  CAPTAINS'  RECORD  OF  SEXES  TAKEN. 

To  illustrate  this,  we  may  say  that  under  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  award  it 
was  made  obligatory  on  the  captains  of  sealing  vessels  to  keep  a  record  of  the  sexes 
of  all  animals  taken.  It  was  manifestly  absurd  to  suppose  that  men  engaged  in  a 
business  like  pelagic  sealing  would  take  the  trouble  to  report  accurately  facts  which 
must  injure  their  business.  The  result  has  been  that  whenever  the  sex  returns  have 
been  supplied  by  the  sealers  themselves  the  sexes  have  been  reported  so  nearly  equal 
that  the  proportion  of  females  has  on  the  average  rarely  exceeded  55  per  cent.  What 
we  have  said  regarding  the  relation  of  land  killing  to  the  proportion  of  the  sexes  is 
sufficient  proof  of  the  falsity  of  these  returns.  But  we  also  note  that  during  the 


THE    SEX    OF    PELAGIC    SKINS. 


155 


period  covered  by  these  returns  by  the  sealers,  showing  an  excess  of  no  more  than 
5  per  cent  of  females,  it  was  possible  to  secure  only  81,000  males  on  land,  whereas 
187,000  animals,  males  and  females,  were  taken  at  sea.  That  45  per  cent  of  this  latter 
number  should  have  been  males  is  simply  out  of  the  question. 

CUSTOM-HOUSE  EXAMINATION  BY  EXPERTS. 

Fortunately,  however,  we  are  not  forced  to  rely  merely  upon  inference  or  upon 
the  reports  of  interested  parties  for  our  information  in  this  matter.  For  the  past  four 
seasons  the  United  States  Government  has  provided  for  the  examination,  by  experts, 
of  the  pelagic  catches  of  American  vessels  in  the  custom-houses  on  their  landing. 
These  returns  are  as  follows  for  the  seasons  1894-1897 : 


Experts'  sex  returns  for  American  catch. 
1894.  Per  cent. 


Northwest  coast. 
Bering  Sea 


69 


1895. 


Northwest  coast 74 


1896.  Per  cent. 

Northwest  coast 93 

Bering  Sea 75 

1897. 
Northwest  coast. ..  93 


Bering  Sea 73 

CONTRAST  OF  SEX  RETURNS. 

With  these  figures  may  be  compared  the  percentages  furnished  by  the  logs  of  the 
captains  of  the  Canadian  sealing  fleet,  which  we  are  forced  to  use,  as  Great  Britain 
has  refused  to  permit  the  inspection  of  the  Canadian  catch  in  port.  No  returns  for 
these  vessels  are  available  for  the  Northwest  catch  until  the  spring  of  1896,  when  the 
percentage  of  females  is  given  as  40.  With  it  may  be  compared  the  expert  report  of 
93  per  cent  for  the  American  vessels  on  the  same  grounds  in  the  same  season.  For 
the  three  seasons,  1894-1896,  the  Canadian  reports  for  the  Bering  Sea  catch  are 
respectively  55,  55,  and  61  per  cent  females.  The  vessels  of  the  American  fleet  were 
engaged  during  the  same  time  and  side  by  side  with  the  Canadian  vessels.  The  latter 
average  52  per  cent  of  females  and  the  former  80  per  cent.  Comment  is  not  necessary. 

This  high  proportion  of  females  in  the  pelagic  catch  is  borne  out  by  the  expert 
examinations  of  furriers  in  London.  See  affidavits  in  Appendix  II. 

THE  SEX  OF  SALTED  SKINS  EASILY  DETERMINED. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  it  is  entirely  feasible  to  determine  the  sex  of  the  salted 
skin,  as  reference  to  Mr.  Townsend's  paper  on  this  subject  published  in  Part  III  will 
show.  There  is,  therefore,  no  doubt  of  the  accuracy  of  the  results  of  the  custom-house 
examinations. 

THE  INVESTIGATIONS  OF  ALEXANDER  AND  HALKETT. 

With  a  view  to  studying  the  operations  of  pelagic  sealing  in  1895,  Mr.  A.  B. 
Alexander  was  detailed  to  make  the  cruise  on  one  of  the  pelagic  sealing  vessels.1  The 
results  of  his  observations  are  published  elsewhere  in  this  report  and  contain  the  most 
complete  account  of  the  methods  and  operations  of  pelagic  sealing  yet  obtained.  Mr. 
Alexander  found  in  the  catch  of  the  Dora  Sieward,  numbering  about  1,500  seals,  62 


'A  complete  account  of  the  cruise  will  be  found  in  Part  III  of  this  report. 


156  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

per  cent  of  females.  The  following  year  Mr.  Andrew  Halkett,  making  a  similar 
investigation  for  the  Canadian  government,  found  in  the  catch  of  the  same  vessel 
also  in  Bering  Sea  the  percentage  of  females  to  be  84. ] 

The  difference  between  the  results  of  these  two  investigations  shows  that  the 
proportion  of  the  sexes  may  vary  considerably  from  season  to  season  and  between 
different  vessels.  It  must  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  these  reports  are  based  on 
the  catches  of  individual  vessels.  The  returns  for  the  fleet  of  18  American  vessels  in 
1895  gives  the  percentage  of  females  as  73,  while  for  the  fleet  of  13  vessels  in  1896  it 
is  75  per  cent,  It  is  probably  not  possible  to  determine  more  definitely  the  exact 
proportion  of  females,  but  these  figures  are  sufficient  with  the  known  preponderance 
of  the  female  sex  to  show  that  the  proportion  is  large. 

THE  FEMALES  MORE  EASILY  TAKEN. 

It  may  be  noted  that  the  habits  of  the  animals  are  such  as  to  make  it  probable 
that  were  the  sexes  equally  numerous  at  sea  the  females  would  be  taken  in  greater 
numbers.  In  the  spring  of  the  year  off  the  Northwest  Coast  the  female  is  heavy 
with  young,  and  consequently  more  sluggish  than  the  young  males.  In  Bering  Sea 
it  is  the  mother  driven  by  the  necessity  of  nourishing  her  offspring  that  is  found 
constantly  on  the  feeding  grounds.  In  either  case  her  necessities  and  habits  leave 
her  the  easy  victim  of  the  pelagic  hunter. 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  MALES  NOT  IMPORTANT. 

We  have  not  taken  into  account  the  fact  that  a  certain  number  of  males  are 
necessarily  taken  by  the  pelagic  sealers.  It  is  unnecessary  to  do  so.  With  the  males 
taken  in  this  way  we  have  no  concern.  Their  capture  decreases  the  profits  of  the 
lessees  of  the  islands  and  the  revenue  of  the  Government,  but  does  not  affect  the  herd 
any  more  than  does  the  killing  of  males  on  land.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  they  may 
be  left  out  of  consideration  in  this  discussion. 

The  important  matter  is  that  of  the  animals  taken  at  sea  by  the  pelagic  sealers 
from  62  to  84  per  cent  are  females.  It  may  be  remarked  here  that  we  are  not  con- 
cerned to  make  this  percentage  of  females  high.  Were  it  a  fact  that  among  the 
animals  taken  at  sea  the  males  were  in  the  excess  of  the  females,  the  difference  would 
be  merely  one  of  degree.  So  long  as  females  in  any  number  are  taken,  the  herd  is 
injured,  and  the  injury  is  greater  in  proportion  as  the  number  killed  is  greater. 

POSSIBILITY  OF  EQUILIBRIUM  UNDER  PELAGIC  SEALING. 

Much  has  been  said  of  late  by  those  interested  in  the  retention  of  pelagic  sealing 
about  the  tendency  to  equilibrium  which  is  to  be  found  in  the  rapid  falling  off' of  the 
pelagic  catch.  In  1896  Professor  Thompson  of  the  British  Commission  professed  to 
believe  that  this  equilibrium  had  then  been  reached,  and  that  we  might  under  present 
conditions  hope  for  a  perpetuation  of  the  numbers  of  the  herd  as  found  in  that  year.2 
The  investigation  of  1897,  showing  a  marked  decrease  from  the  condition  of  1897, 
demonstrated  clearly  that  this  was  a  mistake,  a  fact  which  Professor  Thompson 
admits  in  his  1897  report. 

1  See  Halkett  MSS.,  Report  1896. 

2  Thompson,  Mission  to  Bering  Sea,  1896,  p.  35. 


THE    EQUILIBRIUM    THEORY.  157 

THE  EQUILIBRIUM   A  THEORETICAL  FACT. 

There  is,  however,  a  certain  amount  of  truth  in  this  idea  of  equilibrium,  and  we 
may  inquire  what  it  is  and  what  will  be  the  condition  of  the  herd  and  of  the  industry 
of  pelagic;  sealing1  when  it  is  reached. 

As  already  indicated,  the  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  is  determined  by  the 
relation  of  its  various  losses  to  its  single  source  of  gain,  the  yearly  accession  of  young 
3-year-old  breeders.  From  the  history  of  the  herd  in  the  period  from  1871  to  1880 
we  know  that  the  various  losses  which  the  herd  suffered  about  balanced  its  gain,  and 
there  was  neither  increase  nor  diminution.  From  the  nature  of  the  losses  which  the 
herd  is  subject,  to  we  may  infer  that  in  its  less  crowded  condition  within  the  past 
few  years,  they  have  been  somewhat  mitigated.  This  would  be  especially  true  of  the 
loss  through  the  parasitic  worm  and  through  fights  and  struggles  on  the  breeding 
grounds.  Under  normal  conditions  in  its  present  state,  the  herd  might  be  expected 
to  increase  by  a  slight  margin  each  year.  That  it  does  not  so  increase  is  due  to 
the  action  of  pelagic  sealing.  The  measure  of  this  possible  increase  in  the  herd  is 
the  margin  of  difference  between  the  number  of  3-year-old  females  which  enter  the 
breeding  grounds  in  any  season  and  the  total  number  of  deaths  resulting  to  the  adult 
breeding  herd  from  old  age  and  the  incidents  of  the  sea. 

DEATH  FROM  OLD  AGE. 

If  we  assume  for  the  breeding  female  an  average  life  of  thirteen  years,  this 
would  give  a  breeding  life  of  ten  years,  and  the  death  rate  from  old  age  must  each 
year  amount  to  about  10  per  cent  of  the  breeding  herd.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
clear  from  the  proportion  between  the  breeding  herd  of  130,000  and  the  quota  of 
20,000  for  the  present  year  that  the  proportion  of  pups  which  survive  from  any  birth 
rate  to  the  age  of  3  years  is  about  one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the  total  number.  The 
quota  of  the  present  time  is  therefore  roughly  a  measure  of  the  gain  of  the  herd,  as 
an  approximately  equal  number  of  young  females  must  survive. 

A  HYPOTHETICAL  CASE. 

As  an  illustration,  let  us  assume  for  any  given  year  a  total  breeding  herd  ot 
180,000  cows.  Of  these  150,000  would  be  adults  and  30,000  young  cows  coming  into 
the  herd  for  the  first  time  as  breeders  and  representing  the  normal  gain  of  the  herd. 
Assuming  that,  as  a  result  of  storms  at  sea,  old  age,  and  attacks  of  enemies,  10  per 
cent  of  the  herd  are  lost  in  the  winter  migration,  this  would  mean  the  absence  of 
18,000  animals  for  the  succeeding  season,  to  cover  which  and  provide  for  continued 
increase  the  herd  receives  a  gain  of  30,000  young  animals.  The  net  gain  to  the  herd 
is,  therefore,  12,000  breeding  females.  This  is  a  liberal  estimate  of  gain. 

THE  POSSIBLE  ABSTRACTION  OF  FEMALES. 

If  the  killing  of  female  seals  produced  only  the  direct  loss  entailed  by  their 
absence,  this  removal  of  12,000  females  from  the  hypothetical  stock  of  180,000 
breeders  would  leave  the  herd  in  a  state  of  equilibrium.  But  for  each  life  thus  lost 
results  the  death  of  an  unborn  pup,  and  with  such  part  of  the  12,000  females  as  are 
taken  in  Bering  Sea  nursing  pups  die  also.  This  secondary  loss  is  felt  later  in  a 


158  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

diminished  accession  of  breeding  3-year-olds.  In  other  words,  the  yearly  increment 
of  30,000  could  not  be  maintained,  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  taking  of  12,000 
females  would  cause  the  herd  to  decline. 

THE  SECONDARY  LOSS  OF  PUPS. 

We  can  estimate  approximately  this  secondary  loss.  For  the  12,000  females 
killed  an  equal  number  of  unborn  young  are  destroyed,  and  if  one-half  of  them  are 
killed  during  the  summer,  6,000  additional  young  will  starve;  in  all,  18,000  young  are 
lost.  But  as  only  one  third  of  them  would  naturally  survive  to  the  age  of  3  years,  and 
but  one-half  of  these  would  be  breeders,  the  total  loss  would  be  about  3,000.  This, 
at  least,  must  be  deducted  from  the  12,000,  leaving  9,000  females  which  can  be  taken 
from  the  herd  and  still  leave  it  in  a  state  of  equilibrium.  The  abstraction  of  females, 
therefore,  which  the  herd  of  180,000  breeding  females  can  stand  without  declining,  is 
not  to  exceed  Jo  per  cent. 

We  do  not  put  this  percentage  forward  as  absolute.  Its  value  rests  solely  upon 
the  percentage  of  young  which  survive  to  the  age  of  3  years.  We  have  assumed  that 
one-third  so  survive,  and  this  is  probably  a  maximum,  but  for  the  purposes  of  the 
calculation  it  will  answer. 

To  determine  whether  or  not  the  effect  of  pelagic  sealing  is  such  as  to  warrant  the 
supposition  that  a  state  of  equilibrium  has  been  or  is  likely  to  be  reached  soon,  Ave 
have  only  to  refer  to  the  pelagic  catch  for  the  year  1896.  The  summer  catch  of  1896 
in  Bering  Sea  numbered  29,500,  of  which  84  per  cent  were  females.  The  spring  catch 
of  the  same  year  was  14,400,  of  which  93  per  cent  were  females,  making  in  all  38,000 
females  from  a  herd  of  about  160,000,  approximately  24  per  cent,  with  additional  loss 
to  appear  in  1899  from  the  destruction  of  young  life. 

PELAGIC  CATCH  STILL  INVOLVES  16  PER  CENT  OF  ALL  FEMALES. 

In  view  of  the  heavy  falling  off  which  pelagic  sealing  has  undergone  in  1897,  we 
may  carry  out  the  computation  for  this  season  also.  There  were  taken  in  the  spring 
of  1897  off  the  northwest  coast  7,857,  of  which  93  per  cent,  or  7,300,  were  females.  In 
Bering  Sea  16,454  were  taken,  of  which,  using  the  percentage  of  1896,  which  is  low,  84 
per  cent,  or  13,800  were  females,  making  in  all  for  1897  21,000  females.  This  for 
a  herd  of  130,000  is  16  per  cent.  It  is  evident  that  pelagic  sealing  must  still  fall 
considerably  before  equilibrium  is  reached. 

IT  MUST  FALL  TO  ONE-THIRD   BEFORE  EQUILIBRIUM  COMES. 

In  short  it  would  appear  that  the  pelagic  catch  must  fall  to  about  one-third  its 
present  size  before  the  decline  in  the  herd  ceases.  It  is  doubtful  whether  such  a 
reduction  will  result.  The  haunts  of  the  seals  are  too  convenient.  The  same  vessels 
may  not  go  out  each  year,  but  enough  will  be  ready  to  risk  the  chance  of  a  remuner- 
ative catch  to  keep  the  herd  on  the  down  grade.  The  very  reduction  of  the  fleet 
in  one  season  will  stimulate  the  business  for  the  next,  each  vessel  hoping  that  its 
neighbors  will  drop  out,  thus  leaving  a  clear  Held.  It  is  probable  that  so  long  as  the 
herd  exists  there  will  be  a  sufficient  number  of  adventurous  spirits  to  prey  upon  it 
and  continue  its  decline.  The  history  of  the  repeated  unsuccessful  attempts  to  secure 
seals  on  the  rookeries  of  the  south  seas  fully  illustrate  what  may  be  expected  in  the 
north.  If  the  spirit  of  adventure  is  sufficiently  strong  to  lead  to  the  fitting  out  of  a 
schooner,  as  was  done  in  1897,  to  visit  the  Galapagos  Islands  on  the  possibility  of 


EQUILIBRIUM    MEANS    COMMERCIAL    RUIN.  15<J 

taking-  seals  there,  we  may  uot  expect  that  the  more  accessible  haunts  of  the  seals  of 
the  North  Pacific  will  be  abandoned. 

THE  EQUILIBRIUM  COULD  NOT  BE  MAINTAINED. 

In  a  theoretical  sense  there  is  a  state  of  equilibrium  of  the  herd  which  is  com- 
patible with  a  limited  amount  of  pelagic  sealing.  The  condition  of  this  equilibrium 
we  have  just  discussed.  We  know  it  must  be  too  low  to  leave  any  profit  either  in 
pelagic  sealing  or  in  land  sealing.  Pelagic  sealing,  already  unprofitable,  must  be 
reduced  to  less  than  one-third  its  present  extent  before  this  state  of  equilibrium  is 
reached.  No  manner  of  protection  could  enforce  the  necessary  limits  to  such  pelagic 
sealing  and  th'ey  are  not  self- adjustable.  Furthermore,  the  herd  under  such  conditions 
would  not  be  worth  protecting  on  land.  Any  such  protection  must  be  maintained  at 
a  loss  to  the  United  States.  To  remove  it  from  the  herd  even  for  a  short  period  of 
time  would  leave  the  breeding  haunts  of  the  animals  open  to  invasion,  and  the 
destruction  so  vigorously  begun  at  sea  would  be  speedily  completed  on  land. 

EQUILIBRIUM   EXISTS  ONLY  FAR  BELOW   COMMERCIAL  RUIN. 

Thus,  while  an  equilibrium  is  possible,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  it  exists  only 
far  below  the  point  of  commercial  profit,  and  must  prove  unsatisfactory  either  to  the 
interests  of  the  United  States  or  to  those  of  the  pelagic  sealer.1 


'This  equilibrium  of  the  fur-seal  herd  is  a  mere  figure  of  speech,  a  juggliug  with  words  for 
diplomatic  purposes.  In  the  conclusions  of  the  recent  conference  of  experts  at  Washington  the 
possibility  of  this  theoretical  equilibrium  was  acknowledged  by  both  sides,  because  self-evident 
whatever  the  conditions.  But  the  fact  was  not  considered  in  any  way  pertinent,  as  "equilibrium"  in 
this  sense  is  only  another  name  for  commercial  destruction.  This  admission  that  pelagic  sealing 
tends  to  cease  as  the  herd  dies  out  has  however  been  used  by  the  Canadian  Government  as  a  pretext 
tor  declining  to  take  immediate  action  in  the  fur-seal  matter.  (See  Senate  Doc.  40,  Fifty-fifth 
Congress,  second  session,  1897,  p.  65.) 

This  theory  of  equilibrium  has  received  an  attention  wholly  undeserved.  In  his  report  for 
1896  Professor  Thompson  suggested  that  the  equilibrium  was  then  reached.  He  was  forced  in  the 
investigations  of  1897  to  admit  that  the  herd  had  suttered  a  measurable  decline  since  1896.  Not- 
withstanding this  fact  we  find  the  following  statement  in  the  concluding  paragraph  of  his  report 
for  1897:  "A  remedy  has  already  been  automatically  applied  in  the,  reduction  of  the  pelagic  fleet  to 
less  than  one-half  its  numbers  of  a  year  ago.  The  tendency  is  to  equilibrium.  The  total  pelagic 
catch  for  this  year  is  not  likely  to  exceed  20,000,  against  36,000  last  year,  and  it  may  be  that  with  a 
catch  so  greatly  diminished  the  point  of  equilibrium  has  at  length  been  attained." 

It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  Professor  Thompson  should  speak  of  commercial  destruction  as  a 
" remedy"  for  zoological  destruction.  This  is  another  way  of  saying  that  "death  cures  all  ills;" 
but  that  mode  of  cure  does  not  satisfy  the  friends  of  the  patient.  It  is,  moreover,  not  true  that  the 
point  of  equilibrium  is  reached,  nor  can  it  be  reached  until  the  catch  at  sea  falls  to  less  than 
one-twentieth  of  the  actual  number  of  breeding  females.  Pelagic  sealing  must  therefore  decline  to 
one-third  its  present  catch  before  the  equilibrium  is  reached. 

The  British  Government  is  not  unaware  of  these  facts,  but  to  give  them  due  recognition  in 
action  would  interfere  with  the  national  policy  in  this  matter.  This  is  to  permit  the  Canadian 
sealers  to  get  out  of  the  fur-seal  herd  everything  they  can  before  the  failure  of  the  herd  forces  the 
alleged  industry  wholly  out  of  existence.  In  other  words,  one  chief  function  of  British  Imperialism 
is  to  serve  as  a  "fence"  for  greedy  colonies  over  whose  actions  she  has  no  control.  AVe  find  no  more 
fitting  words  to  characterize  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  toward  this  fur-seal  question  than  the 
words  of  Professor  Xicholson,  of  Edinburgh:  "There  can  be  no  question,  in  the  light  of  history, 
that  the  political  instinct  of  the  English  people — or  to  adopt  the  popular  language  of  the  moment,  the 
original  sin  of  the  nation — is  to  covet  everything  of  its  neighbors  worth  coveting,  and  it  is  not 
content  until  the  sin  is  complete." 


160  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PBIBILOF    ISLANDS.  ' 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  UNBORN  PUPS. 

Hitherto  we  have  considered  only  the  direct  loss  to  the  breeding  herd  resulting 
from  the  killing  of  females.  There  is,  however,  an  important  secondary  loss  resulting 
from  the  destruction  of  the  young.  Not  only  is  the  adult  female,  with  the  possibility 
of  future  increase  through  her,  lost  to  the  herd,  but  the  times  and  seasons  of  her 
slaughter  are  such  that  her  unborn  and  her  dependent  offspring  must  alike  die 
with  her. 

PREGNANT  AND    NURSING  FEMALES. 

The  investigations  of  the  commission  as  to  the  condition  of  female  seals  taken  in 
Bering  Sea  are  given  in  detail  in  a  special  paper  on  the  breeding  habits  of  the  seals, 
by  Mr.  Lucas,  in  Part  III  of  this  report.  We  may  here  quote  a  brief  summary  of 
the  results : 

A  total  of  176  females  taken  during  the  seasons  of  1895  and  1896  between  August  10  and  September 
3  were  examined,  and  may  be  considered  as  fairly  representing  the  age  and  condition  of  seals  taken  at 
sea.  Of  these  176  there  were  14  yearlings,  sixteen  2-year-olds,  aud  146  over  2  years  old.  All  over  2 
years  old  had  brought  forth  young  tho  season  in  which  they  were  taken,  and  151  of  those  2  years  old 
and  upward  were  pregnant.  The  total  number  of  seals  examined  whose  condition  was  at  all  uncertain 
was  11,  and  7  of  these  were  2-year-olds  examined  before  August  22,  which  might  have  been 
impregnated  later  in  the  season. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  TAKES  COMPOUND  INTEREST. 

Thus  pelagic  sealing  eats  into  the  life  of  the  herd  at  compound  interest.  The 
rookeries  in  1897  showed  a  direct  diminution  from  the  loss  of  females  killed  during 
August  and  September  of  1896  and  the  spring  of  1897.  This  direct  loss  was  supple- 
mented by  the  aftereffects  of  the  premature  destruction  of  the  young  born  in 
1894,  which  manifested  itself  in  the  diminished  quota  of  killable  seals  and  in  the 
correspondingly  diminished  increment  of  young  breeders.  In  like  manner  the 
future  will  show  the  continued  effects  of  the  destructive  industry.  For  the  pups 
starved  to  death  in  1896  and  those  starved  in  1897  the  rookeries  must  suffer  in  1900 
and  1901  whether  pelagic  sealing  continues  or  not. 

DESTRUCTION  OF  NURSING  PUPS. 

As  the  starvation  of  pups  has  been  the  source  of  a  great  deal  of  discussion,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  consider  the  matter  in  some  detail.  It  was  strongly  contended  in  the 
British  case  before  the  Paris  Tribunal  that  no  such  result  as  the  starvation  of  the  pup 
followed  from  the  killing  of  the  mother  at  sea.  The  claim  of  the  United  States  that 
the  pups  were  left  to  die  of  hunger  was  denominated  in  the  same  connection  as  "  a 
contention  wholly  novel."  It  was  further  asserted  that  "it  is  not  known  that  the 
breeding  females  go  to  sea  for  food  while  their  pups  are  dependent  upon  them."1 

PUPS  DEPENDENT  ON  MILK  UNTIL  DECEMBER. 

In  the  investigations  of  the  season  of  1896  these  subjects  received  special 
attention.  It  was  found  that  the  pups  continued  to  nurse  their  mothers  as  late  as  the 
5th  of  December,  being  up  to  that  time  wholly  dependent  upon  milk  for  nourishment. 


1  British  Counter  Case,  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Vol.  9,  pp.  179  and  183. 


FEEDING    OF    THE    SEALS.  161 

Of  pups  killed  for  examination  during-  September  and  October  some  were  found 
to  contain  from  one  to  two  quarts  of  rich  milk,  the  result  in  each  case  of  a  single  meal. 
That  the  mother  seal,  an  animal  averaging  70  pounds  in  weight,  should  continue  for 
upward  of  four  months  to  nourish  her  young  in  this  manner  without  feeding  is  suffi- 
ciently absurd  on  the  face  of  it.  But  the  results  of  Mr.  Townsend's  and  Mr.  Lucas's 
examination  of  adult  females  taken  on  the  feeding  grounds  in  Bering  Sea,  proves 
absolutely  that  the  nursing  females  go  to  sea  to  feed. 

THE  ABSENCE  OF  EXCREMENT. 

In  support  of  the  theory  that  the  females  do  not  leave  the  rookeries  to  feed  while 
their  pups  are  dependent  upon  them,  the  British  commissioners  of  1891-92  cited  the 
"absence  of  all  excrement  on  the  breeding  places."  What  the  investigators  of  1891-92 
did  or  did  not  see  we  do  not  know,  but  during  the  past  two  seasons  excrement  was 
seen  in  quantities  both  on  the  breeding  grounds  and  on  the  hauling  grounds,  as  were 
also  spewings  containing  the  bones  and  flesh  of  fish.  It  is  true  that  the  aggregate 
amount  of  excrement  seen  is  small  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  animals,  but  this  is 
due  in  all  probability  to  the  fact  that  the  fur  seal  digests  its  food  for  the  most  part,  if 
not  wholly,  before  coming  ashore,  and  as  a  natural  result  most  of  the  excrement  is 
voided  in  the  water. 

THE  SUPPOSED  NONFEEDING  OF  FEMALES. 

A  second  proof  adduced  in  support  of  the  nonfeeding  of  the  females  was  that  no 
food  had  been  found  in  the  stomachs  of  the  limited  number  of  these  animals  examined 
up  to  that  time.  It  was  known  that  the  stomachs  of  the  bachelors  were  found  to  be 
empty  at  all  times  during  the  season.  It  was  further  absolutely  known  that  the  adult 
bulls  fasted  during  the  breeding  season.  From  analogy  to  the  bulls  and  from  the 
absence  of  food  in  their  stomachs  it  was  assumed  in  a  general  way  that  the  bachelors 
also  fasted,  and  by  carrying  the  chain  of  analogy  one  step  farther  it  was  assumed  that 
the  cows  fasted  also. 

THE  ABSENCE  OF  FOOD  IN  STOMACHS. 

It  is  true  that  the  stomachs  of  adult  animals  of  all  classes  are  wholly  devoid  of  food 
when  examined  on  laud.  Investigations  on  this  score  were  made  in  1896  and  1897  on  a 
large  number  of  bachelors  and  many  cows.  Some  of  the  latter  were  killed  immediately 
on  coming  ashore  expressly  to  throw  light  on  the  question.  But  no  food  was  found, 
not  even  in  the  stomach  of  a  cow  found  choked  to  death  on  a  fish  bone.  These 
facts,  however,  can  not  be  expected  to  weigh  against  the  conclusive  evidence  of  the 
stomachs  of  both  females  and  bachelors  taken  on  the  feeding  grounds  in  August. 
That  the  fur-seal  bull  should  fast  is  necessary.  He  comes  on  laud  in  the  spring 
loaded  down  with  blubber  in  preparation  for  it,  and  grows  excessively  thin  before 
the  season  is  over.  The  cows  and  bachelors  show  no  such  provision.  They  maintain 
an  even  and  moderate  condition  throughout  the  season.  They  could  not  do  so  if 
they  fasted. 

15184 11 


1G2  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PKIBILOF   ISLANDS. 

THE  SEAL  DIGESTS  ITS  FOOD  IN  THE  WATER. 

For  the  absence  of  food  in  the  stomachs  of  the  seals  we  must  find  a  simpler 
explanation,  and  this  seems  to  be  that  they  remain  in  the  water  to  digest  their  food. 
If  it  is  not  fully  digested  when  the  animal  reaches  the  islands  on  returning  from  the 
feeding  grounds,  it  loiters  offshore  swimming  about,  sleeping,  or  playing  until  digestion 
is  completed. 

This  assumption  also  explains  other  things.  For  example,  the  band  of  idle  seals 
hovering  off  the  rookery  fronts;  the  fact  that  the  cows  are  not  seen  to  come  directly 
in  from  the  sea;  and  the  fact  that  pups  killed  in  the  water,  sleeping  and  sporting  in 
the  same  way,  were  found  full  of  milk,  while  those  killed  on  land  were,  as  a  rule,  empty. 

THE  ABSURD  THEORY  OF  INDISCRIMINATE  NURSING. 

But  not  content  with  establishing  the  fact  that  the  mother  seals  did  not  leave  the 
rookeries  while  their  pups  were  dependent  upon  them,  the  British  commissioners  went 
on  to  show  that  if  they  did  go  away  and  were  killed  the  pups  did  not  necessarily  starve, 
because  they  could  obtain  nourishment  from  other  cows.  In  short,  it  was  contended 
that  the  female  fur  seals  in  contrast  to  all  other  animals,  nursed  their  young  in  common. 
This  theory  was  supported  by  a  series  of  ostensibly  minute  but  faulty  observations, 
which  gave  an  air  of  plausibility  to  it. 

FUR-SEAL  MOTHER  AND  PUP. 

The  fur-seal  mother  displays  little  affection  for  her  own  young,  but  she  displays 
less  for  her  neighbors'.  When  she  wants  her  pup,  she  calls  lustily  for  it,  and,  finding 
it,  lies  down  and  nurses  it  without  further  ceremony.  The  pup  when  satisfied  goes 
off  and  does  not  seek  its  mother  until  it  is  again  hungry.  As  the  majority  of  the 
mothers  are  absent  at  sea,  the  majority  of  the  pups  are  always  hungry.  They  are 
willing  and  ready  to  flock  about  the  calling  cow,  who  has  difficulty  among  so  many  in 
attracting  the  attention  of  her  own  pup.  The  savage  treatment  she  accords  these 
strange  pups  makes  them  keep  at  a  safe  distance,  and  is  clear  enough  proof  of  her 
unwillingness  to  care  for  them. 

MISTAKEN  OBSERVATIONS. 

The  mistakes  that  have  been  made  in  this  matter  have  resulted  from  a  misunder- 
standing or  a,  misinterpretation  of  very  simple  actions.  When  the  cow  lands,  she  is 
likely  to  be  met  at  the  shore  by  half  a  dozen  hungry  pups  waiting  for  their  mothers. 
They  flock  about  her  and  she  snaps  and  snarls  at  them,  calling  her  pup  in  the  intervals. 
In  due  time  it  responds  and  joins  the  crowd  of  expectant  pups.  The  mother  recognizes 
it  for  a  brief  instant  by  shaking  her  head  and  smelling  over  it.  This  is  all  the 
attention  it  receives.  She  at  once  sets  out  to  find  a  suitable  place  in  which  to  rest. 
She  may  travel  back  the  full  length  of  the  rookery,  taking  up  her  place  in  one  of  the 
rear  harems.  The  pups  may  all  follow  her  for  a  short  distance,  but  gradually  give  up 
and  return  to  the  water  front,  all  but  her  own  pup,  which  persists,  and  in  the  end  is 
allowed  to  nurse. 

To  omit  from  the  observation  the  brief  and  simple  recognition  of  the  pup  by  tho 
mother  destroys  its  accuracy.  This  is  exactly  what  the  Canadian  commissioner  in 
his  observations  of  1892  did.  He  then  tried  to  prove  that  a  cow  would  nurse  any 
pup  if  it  was  only  persistent  enough.  His  interpretation  of  an  incident  like  the  one 
cited  above  was  that  the  pup  which  ultimately  succeeded  in  nursing  was  a  strange 
pup,  whose  persistency  was  finally  rewarded. 


THE  FOOD  OF  THE  PUPS,  163 

It  is  iiot  necessary  to  go  into  greater  detail.  In  the  daily  journal  are  recorded  the 
observations  of  the  commission  in  this  matter.  It  is  not  a  matter  of  great  moment, 
but  from  the  prominence  which  this  absurd  proposition  was  given  it  has  been  necessary 
to  discuss  it. 

THE  SUPPOSED  SELF-FEEDING  OF  PUPS. 

But  not  content  with  proving  that  the  mother  did  not  leave  the  pup,  and  that  if 
she  did,  the  pup  could  easily  find  a  foster  mother,  the  British  commissioners  insisted 
that  the  pup  could  shift  for  itself  and  gain  sustenance  independent  of  any  mother. 
This  theory  has  been  thus  stated  by  Mr.  Macoun : 

From  the  time  the  pups  first  go  into  the  water,  they  are  to  be  seen  with  pieces  of  seaweed  in  their 
mouths,  and  there  is  no  reason  for  doubting  that  from  this  time  until  they  leave  the  islands  a 
considerable  portion  of  their  food  is  composed  of  seaweed,  picked  up  along  the  shore  or  in  the  water 
adjacent  to  it. 

THE  ABSURDITY  OF  THE  THEORY. 

What  nourishment  an  animal,  whose  natural  diet  for  the  time  being  is  milk,  and 
which  is  destined  ultimately  to  feed  on  fish,  could  find  in  seaweed  is  not  readily 
apparent.  But  this  objection  seemingly  offered  no  difficulty.  It  may  be  observed 
that  this  theory  rests  again  on  a  misinterpretation  of  very  simple  facts.  The  pup  fur 
seal,  like  a  young  dog,  loves  to  play  with  anything  it  finds  at  hand.  It  is  a  common 
sight,  therefore,  to  see  a  pup  swimming  about  with  a  yard  or  more  of  kelp  streaming 
from  its  mouth.  If  observed  closely,  other  pups  will  be  found  tossing  dead  shells, 
pieces  of  sticks,  or  even  pebbles.  A  pup  was  observed  to  play  for  an  hour  with  a  small 
feather.  It  is  as  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  pup  feeds  on  the  feather  or  the  shell 
as  on  the  seaweed.  They  are  all  objects  of  play ;  nothing  more. 

This  theory  naturally  went  a  step  further,  and  assumed  that  Crustacea  and  other 
animal  life  in  the  waters  about  the  rookeries  was  drawn  upon  to  supplement  the 
seaweed  diet  of  the  pups.  The  leathery  tunicates  which  are  found  strewn  in  large 
quantities  upon  the  sand  beaches  of  St.  Paul  after  a  storm  have  been  looked  upon  as 
palatable  and  nutritious  food  for  pups.  It  is  supposed  that  these  are  the  "tender 
algoid  sprouts"  of  which  Mr.  Elliott  makes  mention  as  serving  as  food  for  pups. 

DETERMINATION  OF  THE  MATTER  BY  KILLING  PUPS. 

There  being  but  one  way  to  settle  such  a  question  as  this,  namely,  to  kill  and 
examine  the  stomachs  of  the  pups  themselves,  this  method  was  adopted  and  thor- 
oughly carried  out  during  the  months  of  September,  October,  and  November,  in  1896.1 


'Mr.  Macoun,  of  the  British  commission,  was  present  while  these  investigations  were  made,  an>l 
examined  the  stomachs  of  the  pups  killed.  The  stomachs  in  some  cases  contained  milk,  in  others 
noue.  One  stomach  well  supplied  with  milk  contained  two  small  amphipods ;  one  had  a  small  tunicate 
mixed  with  pebbles;  another  contained  part  of  a  soft-shelled  crab;  several  had  shreds  of  seaweed 
mixed  with  milk.  All  the  stomachs  contained  the  characteristic  pebbles.  This  was  the  sum  total  of 
material  aside  from  milk  found  in  the  stomachs  of  twenty  pups  killed  from  day  to  day  and  under  cir- 
cumstances most  favorable  for  determining  whether  they  were  feeding  or  not.  Mr.  Macoun  on  the 
spot  agreed  that  the  examinations  were  sufficient  and  that  there  was  nothing  found  to  warrant  the 
supposition  that  the  pups  had  begun  to  feed  for  themselves.  Notwithstanding  this,  in  discussing 
the  matter  in  his  1896  report,  he  makes  the  following  grossly  misleading  statement: 

"In  addition  to  milk,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  stomachs  examined  contained  (1)  seaweed,  (2) 
ascidians,  (3)  small  crustaceans,  (4)  soft-shell  crab.  That  these  were  found  with  one  exception  only 
in  stomachs  which  contained  no  milk,  goes  to  show  that  the  yonug  seal  when  hungry  avail  themselves 
of  the  food  that  is  to  be  found  in  abundance  in  the  places  most  frequented  by  them."  (Macoun,  1896 
Report,  MSS.) 


164  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

A  .score  or  more  of  pups  were  killed  under  circumstances  specially  fitted  to  throw 
light  on  the  subject,  and  their  stomachs,  with  those  of  others  dead  from  starvation 
and  other  causes,  were  found  to  be  devoid  of  all  food  except  milk.1  Pups  killed  as 
late  as  the  5th  of  December  were  found  full  of  milk,  and  at  that  time  the  cows  were 
nursing  their  pups  as  at  earlier  times  in  the  season.  Owing  to  the  mild  weather,  this 
was  nearly  a  month  later  than  the  usual  time  for  the  departure  of  the  cows  and  their 
young,  and  the  pups  had  evidently  not  yet  been  weaned. 

PUP  ABSOLUTELY  DEPENDENT  UPON    ITS  MOTHER'S  MILK. 

It  would  necessarily  follow  from  these  considerations  that  the  fur-seal  pup  is 
dependent  upon  its  mother's  milk  for  nourishment  throughout  the  entire  season  and 
until  its  departure  with  her  from  the  islands.  This  fact,  taken  in  connection  with  the 
killing  of  nursing  females  at  sea,  is  enough  to  settle  the  question  of  whether  pups 
starve  to  death;  but  that  there  should  be  no  mistake,  the  subject  of  starvation,  as 
shown  in  its  direct  effect  on  the  pups  themselves,  received  special  attention,  and  may 
be  here  considered  somewhat  in  detail. 


See  fuller  discussion  in  Mr.  Lucas'  paper  011  the  Feeding  of  the  Seala.     Part  III. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE  STARVATION  OF  PUPS. 

THE  COUNT  OF  STARVED  PUPS. 

The  fact  of  the  death  of  pups  by  starvation  has  long-  been  noted,  and  for  several 
seasons  prior  to  1806  partial  enumerations  of  deaths  supposed  to  be  from  this  cause 
have  been  made.  In  the  light  of  the  early  mortality  due  to  the  ravages  of  Uncinaria, 
which  was  found  to  have  occurred  prior  to  August  1,  and  consequently  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  pelagic  sealing,  these  figures  were  unsatisfactory,  as  they  plainly 
confused  the  two  causes  of  death.  The  earlier  mortality  has  already  been  referred 
to  and  is  discussed  in  detail  by  Mr.  Lucas  in  his  treatment  of  the  general  subject  of 
mortality  among  the  seals.1 

At  the  time  of  the  count  of  early  dead  pups  between  August  8  and  14  a  few  were 
found  to  have  plainty  starved.  It  is  probable  that  some  of  these  in  the  later  days  of 
the  count  were  the  first  victims  of  pelagic  sealing.  A  mother  taken  at  sea  on  the  1st 
day  of  August  might  have  been  absent  for  some  time,  and  her  pup  would  naturally 
succumb  within  a  shorter  period  than  would  be  required  for  one  more  recently  fed. 
The  majority  of  the  early  deaths  from  starvation,  however,  were  undoubtedly  caused 
by  separation  of  mother  and  pup  by  the  wandering  away  of  the  latter  when  very 
young  or  by  the  death  of  the  mother  from  accidental  causes  on  the  rookeries.  A 
considerable  number  of  dead  cows  were  found  on  the  rookeries,  whose  pups  would 
naturally  starve  unless  otherwise  killed. 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  STARVATIQN. 

The  first  direct  evidence  of  the  destructive  work  of  gelagic  sealing  was  seen  in 
1896,  at  the  time  of  the  count  of  live  pups  on  Kitovi  rookery,  August  15.  In  counting 
the  live  pups  they  were  separated  into  pods  and  allowed  to  run  off  in  narrow  lines  to 
make  counting  possible.  The  weaklings  naturally  fell  behind,  and  a  group  of  from 
three  to  six  starving  pups  followed  in  the  wake  of  each  pod.  The  victims  of  starva- 
tion could  from  this  time  on  be  seen  in  increasing  numbers  as  the  rookeries  were  daily 
inspected.  The  following  notes  on  the  starvation  of  pups  are  extracted  from  the 
daily  journal  of  the  commission. 

NOTES  ON  STARVING  PUPS. 

lu  the  first  stages  of  starvation  the  doomed  pup  was  to  l>e  recognized  by  a  growing  thinness. 
The  ordinary  pup  is  plump  and  fat,  and  its  sides  stick  out  with  milk  while  its  mother  is  on  land.  A 
thin  pup  might,  of  course,  mean  only  a  hungry  one,  which  would  recover  itself  in  a  few  days  after 
its  mother's  return.  If  the  mother  did  not  return  the  pup  continued  to  grow  thinner.  A  premature 
grayness  began  to  show  about  the  eyes  and  month.  The  eyes  assumed  a  wide  and  staring  look, 
giving  the  animal  a  hunted  appearance. 


1  Paper  on  "Causes  of  Mortality,"  by  Mr.  Lucas.     Part  III. 


165 


166  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE   HUNGRY   PUP. 

While  the  pup  was  merely  hungry,  it  called  frequently  for  its  mother.  It  hung  about  the  water's 
edge  as  if  awaiting  Ifer  there.  It  would  even  follow  a  wet  cow  back  for  a  distance  from  the  water, 
but,  on  being  repulsed,  it  would  return  to  its  position.  In  one  or  two  instances  starving  pups  were 
seen  to  attempt  to  nurse  sleeping  cows,  but  never  with  success. 

While  their  strength  remained  the  starving  pups  played  about,  as  usual  with  their  healthy 
companions;  always,  however,  with  an  effort.  They  went  into  the  water,  and  that  they  swam 
farther  at  times  than  their  strength  warranted  was  evident  from  the  fact  that  occasionally  they 
landed  to  die  on  the  rocks  at  considerable  distances  from  the  rookeries  to  which  they  belonged. 
Thus  two  pups  came  ashore  in  the  little  cove  across  the  neck  from  Zoltoi  and  died  there  in  1896. 

THE   BREAKING   DOWN. 

After  the  first  stage  of  sharp  hunger  was  passed  the  little  animals  seemed  to  weaken  physically. 
They  lay  about  on  the  rocks,  sometimes  sleeping,  but  always  easily  startled.  When  aroused,  some 
would  run  away,  crying  in  terror;  others  would  turn  at  bay  and  bite  savagely  at  the  boots  of  the 
disturber,  perhaps  only  to  fall  down  helpless  the  next  instant.  In  crossing  the  sand  flat  of  Tolstoi, 
which  was  deserted  by  the  living  seals  in  September,  a  dozen  or  more  of  these  gaunt  little  specters 
would  start  up  from  among  the  dead  and  stumble  away,  crying  piteously. 

One  day,  on  the  "death-trap"  gully  of  Zapadui,  a  little  sleeping  starveling  was  aroused  with 
difficulty.  When  it  caught  sight  of  the  intruder  it  fell  in  a  fit  of  terror,  then  stumbled  off  in  a 
frantic  manner,  only  to  fall  in  convulsions,  which  ended  in  unconsciousness.  This  pup  was  about  to 
die.  It  was  as  thin  as  a  shadow. 

THE   DEATH   OF   THE   STARVELING. 

When  undisturbed,  the  starving  pups  in  the  last  stages  showed  little  evidence  of  pain.  They 
looked  utterly  miserable,  but  indifferent  and  stolid.  Their  healthy  companions  occasionally  attempted 
to  play  with  them,  but  they  either  resented  the  interference  or  else  ignored  it.  For  the  most  part 
they  were  left  to  themselves.  Toward  the  end  they  slept  most  of  the  time.  This  sleep  merged  into 
unconsciousness  and  torpor,  from  which  they  could  not  be  awakened.  Death  finally  came  after  a  brief 
period  of  convulsive  shuddering  and  gasping,  in  which  the  animal  bitthe  ground  and  voided  quantities 
of  black,  tarry  faeces 

DIFFICULTY  IN  DISTINGUISHING  EARLY  DEAD  PUPS. 

It  was  not  possible  at  the  time  of  the  first  count  of  dead  pups  in  August  to  remove 
the  bodies  from  the  rookeries,  and  it  was  believed  then  that  when  the  time  came  for 
counting  the  starved  pups  it  would  be  possible  to  distinguish  between  the  earlier  and 
later  dead.  As  the  season  advanced,  however,  it  became  evident  that  it  would  not 
be  possible  to  make  the  distinction.  Those  dying  in  September  could  easily  be 
separated  from  those  which  died  in  July,  but  no  distinction  could  be  drawn  between 
those  which  died  between  the  1st  of  August  and  the  10th  and  those  which  died 
between  the  latter  date  and  the  20th  of  August.  When  the  count  of  starved  pups 
was  made  about  October  1  it  was  necessary,  therefore,  to  count  every  carcass  to  be 
found  at  that  date.  From  the  total  thus  counted  those  dead  before  the  middle  of 
August  were  deducted  to  determiue  the  number  of  additions  which  had  resulted  from 
starvation. 

Of  the  details  of  this  count  a  full  record  will  be  found  in  the  daily  journal  and 
need  not  be  repeated  here.  A  total  of  20,331  dead  bodies  were  found  on  St.  Paul 
Island  and  897  on  St.  George.  As  against  this  total  of  21,228  dead  pups  found  in 
October,  11,045  were  found  in  August,  which,  being  deducted,  left  10,183  pups  shown 
by  the  actual  count  to  have  died  of  starvation. 


5  I 

?     PS 


DISAPPEARANCE    OF    DEAD    PUPS. 


167 


MANY   EARLY   DEAD    PUPS   DISAPPEARED. 

In  considering  this  count,  however,  several  facts  must  be  noted.  It  was  found 
that  a  large  number  of  the  pups  originally  counted  in  August  had  wholly  disappeared 
or  been  reduced  to  loose  bones.  This  was  particularly  true  on  the  sandy  areas  and 
where  the  dead  lay  in  the  route  of  the  living  seals  as  they  passed  back  and  forth  to 
the  sea.  An  effort  was  made  to  establish  a  correction  for  this  loss,  and  20  per  cent1 
of  the  original  number  counted  in  August  was  fixed  upon  as  likely  to  cover  as  nearly 
as  could  then  be  determined  bodies  which  had  so  disappeared.  Making  allowance 
for  this  correction  the  total  number  of  starved  pups,  as  shown  by  the  enumeration, 
would  be  increased  to  12,392. 

STARVING  PUPS. 

It  was  further  evident  from  the  outset  that  all  the  pups  about  to  die  of  starvation 
had  not  yet  died.  It  was  impossible,  however,  to  delay  the  count  longer,  and  so,  to 
overcome  this  new  difficulty,  an  effort  was  made  to  count  the  starving  pups  among 
the  healthy  ones  as  they  were  driven  from  the  rookery  preparatory  to  the  counting  of 
the  dead.  The  best  estimate,  which  was  a  very  unsatisfactory  one,  gave  1,546  as  the 
number  of  pups  whose  appearance  indicated  that  they  were  certain  to  starve.  This 
number  was  doubtless  very  inadequate,  as  later  observations  on  the  rookeries  in  the 
same  season  showed  that  pups  continued  to  starve  until  as  late  as  the  20th  of  October, 
twenty  days  after  the  count  was  completed  ou  St.  Paul  Island.  Making,  however,  the 
addition  of  the  dying  pups  just  mentioned,  as  shown  by  the  actual  count,  we  have  the 
number  of  deaths  justly  chargeable  to  starvation  increased  to  13,930. 

THE   WORK   OF   THE   FOXES. 

Another  fact  in  connection  with  the  actual  count  must  be  noted.  On  the  Island 
of  St.  George,  as  already  indicated,  the  total  number  of  dead  pups  found  in  October 
was  897.  In  August  the  number  found  was  735.  On  some  of  the  rookeries  of  this 
island,  however,  a  much  smaller  number  of  dead  was  found  in  October  than  was 
found  in  August.  The  condition  of  the  St.  George  rookeries  was  so  peculiar  that  we 
may  give  here  in  detail  both  counts.  They  are  as  follows : 

DEAD  PUPS,  ST.  GEORGE  ISLAND. 


_  Rookery. 

Dead  pups, 
August, 
1896. 

Total  dead 
pups,  Octo- 
ber 6,  1896. 

North         

259 

145 

135 

194 

199 

527 

East                                  

112 

15 

Little  East                        

31 

16 

Total         

736 

897 

1  The  investigations  of  1897  show  clearly  that  this  estimate  of  20  per  cent  to  rover  the  disap- 
pearance of  dead  bodies  between  August  and  October  is  far  below  the  facts.  Our  experiences  with 
Kitovi  and  Lukanin  in  1897  would  indicate  that  50  per  cent  would  not  have  been  an  excessive 
estimate.  Many  of  the  carcasses  are  washed  away  in  the  storms.  Every  one  on  which  the  skin  is 
broken  is  quickly  reduced  to  bones  by  the  gulls  and  foxes.  Furthermore,  many  bodies  are  necessarily 
overlooked  as  they  lie  hidden  among  the  rocks. 


168  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

The  explanation  of  this  condition  of  things  is  that  on  the  rookeries  of  St.  George 
the  blue  foxes,1  of  which  there  are  many,  had  eaten  all  the  pup  carcasses  without 
exception.  The  final  count  had  to  be  made  simply  by  skulls,  or  spinal  colums,  or  such 
parts  of  the  animals  as  could  be  positively  identified. 

RECONSTRUCTION   OF   ST.   GEORGE   ESTIMATES. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  remark  that  these  figures  for  St.  George  can  not  be  used  as 
they  stand.  Some  sort  of  estimate  must  be  made  to  take  their  place.  Xo  fairer  basis 
for  such  an  estimate  exists  than  to  apply  to  the  rookeries  of  St.  George  the  ratio  of 
dead  pups  found  in  October  on  St.  Paul.  On  this  island  the  ratio  of  dead  pups  found 
in  October  to  the  total  number  estimated  to  have  been  born  was  11.19  per  cent.2  This 
would  necessitate  the  addition  of  1,362  pups  to  make  the  conditions  of  St.  George 
comparable  with  those  on  St.  Paul.  This  amount,  together  with  150  pups  which  were 
removed  from  the  rookeries  of  both  islands  during  the  breeding  season  for  purposes 
of  dissection,  makes  the  total  death  rate  subsequent  to  the  middle  of  August,  and 
directly  chargeable  to  starvation,  aggregate  16,019.3 

THE   DETAILED    ESTIMATE. 

This  total,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  explanations  already  given,  is  not  entirely 
satisfactory,  but  it  is  a  real  one  so  far  as  it  goes,  and  fully  12,000  of  it  is  an  actual  count, 

1  In  Mr.  Macoun's  report  for  1896  this  undoubted  fact,  which  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes,  is 
needlessly  questioner!.     If  the  foxes,  as  was  the  fact,  had  completely  destroyed  the  897  carcasses 
which  he  counted,  it  is  begging  the  question  to  assume,  as  he  does,  that  they,  aided  by  the  elements, 
could  not  have  destroyed  the  1,362  additional  pups  necessary  to  make  the  conditions  of  St.  George 
agree  with  those  of  St.  Paul. 

2  This  percentage  is  computed  on  the  original  census  of  1896,  not  on  the  revised  figures  substituted 
in  1897. 

:!  A  strong  effort  has  been  made  by  Professor  Thompson  and  by  Mr.  Macoun  in  their  reports  of 
1896  to  weaken  the  force  of  these  definite  results  regarding  the  starvation  of  pups.  Not  finding  it 
possible  to  deny  the  fact  of  starvation  or  its  importance,  they  have  endeavored  to  minimize  its  effects 
by  insisting  that  the  causes  of  early  mortality  continued  into  and  were  at  work  in  the  period  of 
starvation.  Nothing  could  be  more  misleading  than  this.  The  early  causes  of  death  are  Uncinaria, 
trampling,  starvation  through  early  separation  from  the  mother,  drowning,  accidents.  All  these 
have  to  do  with  the  weakness  and  helplessness  of  the  very  young  pups,  and  must  necessarily  cease 
with  the  close  of  the  breeding  season.  The  pups  die  from  or  outgrow  the  worm  before  September  1. 
In  fact,  this  cause  is  practically  inoperative  after  August  20.  Pups  are  only  trampled  in  the  first  few 
days  after  birth,  and  they  are  only  lost  from  their  mothers,  if  at  all,  at  this  time.  They  certainly  do 
not  drown  after  they  have  learned  to  swim,  which  they  do  by  the  middle  of  August.  The  period  of 
death  from  starvation  lasts  from  August  15  to  October  20.  The  causes  of  the  early  and  later  mortality 
were  absolutely  distinct,  and  that  the  latter  was  due  practically  without  exception  to  starvation 
needs  no  demonstration  to  those  who  made  the  count  of  the  dead  and  dying  pups  on  the  rookeries  of 
St  Paul  in  October,  1896. 


STATISTICS    OF    STARVED    PUPS. 


169 


the  accuracy  of  which  can  not  be  questioned.    The  following  table  will  give  in  detail 
the  statistics  of  the  estimate: 

Pup  statistics — nummary. 


Rookery. 

Total 
born.  a 

Dead. 

Starved. 

Starving. 

August. 

October. 

ST.  PAUL  ISLAND. 

Kitovi  

6,049 
4,450 
2,  484 
14,  439 
17,  648 
4,200 
3.862 
9,142 
652 
15,  258 
1,907 
6,673 
1,363 
27,148 
7,773 

109 
205 
78 
1,895 
3,095 
134 
104 
712 
o 

950 
50 
635 

47 
1,808 
485 

609 
579 
316 
2,449 
4,395 
693 
327 
1,878 
78 
2,786 
284 
1,555 
119 
3,313 
950 

500 
374 
238 
554 
1,300 
559 
223 
1,166 
76 
1,836 
234 
920 
72 
1,525 
445 

42 
27 
51 
191 
154 
64 
18 
126 
8 
300 
31 
55 
22 
329 
109 

Lukanin  

Lagoon  

Tolstoi  

Zapadni  

Little  Zapadni  

Reef  ..                   

Vostochni    

Morjovi  

Total  

123,  048 

10,309 

20,  331 

10,  022 
2  Ofi1 

1,527 

Addition  of  20  per  cent  for  loss  between 
August  and  October  counts   

1    R97 

Addition  for  bodies  taken  for  dissection  .... 

150 

Total  starved  

13,760 

ST.  GEORGE  ISLAND. 

Xorth  

6,  8C9              259 
2,  269              135 
5,  509              199 
4,  086              112 
1,  350                31 

145 

194 
527 
15 
16 

762 
253 
617 
457 
151 

7 

4 
4 
1 

Starava  Artel    

Zapadni  '... 

East  .  .   . 

Little  East  

Total  

20,  e'23              736 

897 

62,240 
19 

19 

Starving  pups  added  as  starved  

Total  

2,259      

Grand  total  for  both  islands 

143,  071         11,  045 

21,  228 

16,  019 

1,546 

a  These  are  the  figures  of  the  original  census  of  1896  as  published  in  the  preliminary  report  of 
that  year. 

b  The  figures  herein  given  for  starved  pups  on  the  rookeries  of  St.  George  are  estimates  based 
u]K>n  the  conditions  of  St.  Paul. 

STARVED    PUPS   IN    1897. 

The  investigations  of  the  season  of  1897  have  made  the  count  of  dead  pups  in 
1896  seem  still  less  satisfactory.  It  may  be  said  that  the  dead  pups  lie  concealed 
among  the  rocks,  and  as  they  quickly  wear  away  under  the  action  of  the  elements  and 
the  trampling  of  the  living  animals  they  are  not  easily  seen  in  the  hasty  inspection, 
which  alone  is  possible  in  counting  them.  A  good  illustration  of  the  probable 
inadequacy  of  the  counts  of  dead  bodies  is  shown  by  the  results  on  Kitovi  rookery. 
A  count  of  this  breeding  ground,  made  with  a  good  deal  of  care  on  the  3d  of  August, 
disclosed  12C  dead  bodies.  When  a  week  or  ten  days  later  the  carcasses  were  actually 
gathered  up  and  removed  from  the  beach,  the  closer  inspection  disclosed  202  dead. 
This  inadequacy  of  the  counts  of  dead  pups  in  1896  is,  however,  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  make  the  case  all  the  stronger,  because  it  leaves  an  under,  rather  than  an  over, 
estimate. 


170 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


THE   REMOVAL   OF   THE   EARLY   DEAD. 


Iii  the  work  of  the  present  season  a  distinct  step  in  advance  was  ir..ade  in  the 
enumeration  of  the  starved  pups.  One  element  of  confusion  in  last  year's  count 
resulted  from  the  difficulty  in  distinguishing  between  the  early  and  the  later  dead. 
To  obviate  this  the  pup  carcasses  on  Kitovi  and  Lukanin  rookeries  were  carefully 
removed  on  August  12,  before  the  starvation  from  pelagic  sealing  began.  Frequent 
counts  of  the  dead,  as  they  accumulated  from  and  after  the  12th,  were  kept  up  until 
the  10th  of  September,  and  the  accessions,  all  plainly  due  to  starvation,  were  found  to 
be  fairly  constant  from  day  to  day.  These  counts  will  be  found  in  the  daily  journal, 
under  date  of  September  6  and  10. 

On  October  15  a  count  by  Colonel  Murray  of  the  dead  on  these  two  breeding 
grounds  gave  a  total  of  1,057.  These  had  died  after  August  12,  and  may  be  taken  as 
a  very  exact  measure  of  the  contribution  of  these  two  rookeries  to  the  general  quota 
of  death  caused  by  pelagic  sealing. 

THE    ESTIMATE   OF   STARVED    PUPS,  1897. 

There  were  in  round  numbers  about  9,500  pups  born  on  Kitovi  and  Lukanin 
rookeries  in  1897.  The  number  starved  was  therefore  about  11  per  cent  of  the 
birth  rate.  Applying  this  percentage  to  the  total  birth  rate  of  the  islands,  the  total 
death  rate  from  starvation  in  1897  must  have  been  approximately  14,000.  In  1890 
the  percentage  of  females  taken  in  Bering  Sea  was  84.  From  the  greater  scarcity  of 
males  this  year  and  the  closer  killing  practiced  on  the  islands,  we  are  justified  in 
assuming  that  the  percentage  for  this  year  could  not  have  been  below  90  per  cent. 
This  would  give  a  total  of  about  15,000  females  killed.  The  difference  of  1,000 
will  account  for  the  small  proportion  of  virgin  two-year  olds,  and  the  adult  cows  in 
the  pelagic  catch,  which  had  already  lost  their  pups  through  natural  causes. 

THE   IMPORTANCE   OF   THE    FIGURES. 

These  data  regarding  the  results  of  starvation  are  very  important,  and  from  them 
we  can  review  our  findings  of  last  year.  Applying  a  proportionate  relation  of  starved 
pups  to  the  pelagic  catch  of  1896,  we  find  that  the  estimate  for  last  year  should  have 
been  about  24,000  instead  of  16,000. 

It  is  not  desired,  however,  to  press  either  of  these  calculations  too  closely.  The 
percentage  of  the  two  rookeries  counted  may  be  slightly  too  high  for  the  other 
rookeries.  It  certainly  is  too  high  for  those  rookeries  on  which  the  early  mortality  is 
great. 

THE   DESTRUCTIVE   EFFECTS   OF   PELAGIC   SEALING   ESTABLISHED. 

But  the  mere  matter  of  the  number  of  pups  which  starve  is  not  important.  The 
essential  thing  is  that  a  very  large  number  of  pups  do  starve.  This  is  settled  beyond 
cavil.  As  we  know  the  pups  are  wholly  dependent  upon  their  mothers'  milk  for 
nourishment  until  fully  a  month  after  pelagic  sealing  ceases,  it  follows  necessarily 
that  the  pup  dies  as  a  result  of  the  mother's  death,  if  it  has  not  already  died  from 
other  causes.  That  more  than  16,000  pups,  which  had  otherwise  escaped  accidents  on 
the  rookeries  in  1896,  and  about  14,000  in  1897  died  of  starvation  is  sufficient  proof  of 


EFFECTS    OF    PELAGIC    SEALING.  171 

the  destructive  effects  of  pelagic  sealing.  This  artificial  and  added  source  of  loss 
among  the  young  pups  is  all  the  more  impressive  when  taken  in  connection  with  the 
previous  loss  which  they  suffer  from  natural  causes. 

THE  CUMULATIVE  EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING. 

We  are  now  ready  to  consider  finally  the  full  effects  of  pelagic  sealing  on  the  fur- 
seal  herd.  It  is  apparent  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  fur  seals  taken  at  sea  are 
females;  that  every  female  above  the  age  of  2  years  is  pregnant,  and  that  when  taken 
in  Bering  Sea  she  has  a  pup  dependent  upon  her  whose  death  results  from  her  own. 

Using  an  average  of  all  the  data  available,  the  proportion  of  females  in  the 
pelagic  catch  is  about  80  per  cent,  or,  to  be  on  the  safe  side,  and  for  the  sake  of  ease 
in  computation,  we  may  consider  it  to  be  75  per  cent. 

THE  TOTAL  EFFECT  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING. 

In  the  earlier  discussion  of  the  pelagic  catch  we  found  that  a  grand  total  of 
988,047,  or  approximately  1,000,000  seals,  had  been  taken  at  sea  since  1868  from  all 
the  herds  of  the  North  Pacific.  With  this  data  at  hand  we  may  make  the  following 
tabulation  of  the  losses  thus  suffered  by  the  fur-seal  herds  of  the  Pribilof  and 
Commander  islands: 

Loss  in  all  waters  through  pelagic  sealing,  1868-1897, 

Animals  actually  secured  (in  round  numbers) 1,  000,  000 

Animals  shot,  but  lost  (undetermined). 

Unborn  pups  destroyed  with  females  (75  per  cent  of  above) 750,  000 

Nursing  pups  starved  (proportion  of  females  killed  in  Bering  Sea) 180,  000 

Total 1,930,000 

Though  the.  second  item  in  the  above  enumeration  is  not  and  can  not  be 
determined,  it  is  nevertheless  an  important  one  and  must  be  borne  constantly  in  mind. 
During  this  period  it  is  significant  to  note,  as  bearing  upon  the  proportion  of  the  sexes 
at  sea,  that  approximately  3,000,000  males  were  killed  on  land  during  the  equivalent 
period. 

THE  EFFECT  SINCE  1883. 

But  inasmuch  as  land  killing  was  at  its  maximum  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of 
this  period,  and  pelagic  sealing  only  nominal,  the  effect  of  the  latter  will  be  more 
strikingly  apparent  if  the  comparison  be  based  upon  the  results  since  1883,  when  the 
pelagic  catch  in  Bering  Sea  began.  This  computation  for  the  Pribilof  herd  alone 
would  be  as  follows : 

Loss  to  the  Pribilof  herd  through  pelagic  sealing  since  1883. 

Animals  actually  secured 536, 000 

Animals  shot,  but  lost  (undetermined). 

Unborn  pups  destroyed  with  females  (75  per  cent  of  above) 402, 000 

Nursing  pups  starved 180,  000 

Total 1,118,000 

Total  laud  killing  covering  the  same  period 842, 000 


172  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  EFFECT  UNDER  THE  PARIS  REGULATIONS. 

From  these  figures  we  begin  to  appreciate  the  effect  which  pelagic  sealing  has 
had  on  the  fur  seal  herd.  At  the  risk  of  repetition  it  is  worth  while  to  carry  this 
computation  one  step  further  and  see  what  has  been  the  condition  of  things  since  tbe 
regulations  of  the  Paris  Tribunal  went  into  effect.  The  following  is  the  result: 

Loss  to  the  Pribilof  herd  Ihrotiyh  pelagic  xeal'my  since  1S94. 

Animals  actually  secured 187, 000 

Animals  shot,  but  lost  (undetermined). 

Unborn  pups  destroyed  with  females  (75  per  cent  of  above) 140,  000 

Nursing  pups  starved  (proportion  of  females  killed  in  Bering  Sea) 122,  000 

Total 449,000 

Total  land  killing,  same  period 80,  000 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  anything  to  this  arraignment  of  pelagic  sealing. 
In  its  known  effects,  coupled  with  the  absence  of  any  other  known  cause,  we  must 
adjudge  it  the  efficient  cause  of  the  decline.  The  fur-seal  herd  has  declined  and  is 
declining  solely  because  of  the  slaughter  of  its  gravid  and  nursing  females  and  the 
premature  destruction  of  their  offspring.  It  naturally  follows  that  these  figures 
constitute  an  equally  striking  and  conclusive  condemnation  of  the  regulations  of  the 
Paris  award. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

EFFECTS  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING  ON  THE  SEAL-SKIN  INDUSTRY. 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  solely  the  effect  of  pelagic  sealing  ou  the  fur-seal 
herd.  It  is  worth  while,  however,  to  look  at  the  effect  also  on  the  general  seal-skin 
industry.  In  former  days  the  supply  of  seal  skins  came  in  part  from  the  southern 
hemisphere;  but  these  herds  are  practically  extinct,  except  for  a  few  thousand  skins 
taken  at  certain  protected  points.  The  fur  seal  skin  industry  is  therefore  practically 
dependent  for  its  existence  on  the  preservation  of  the  seal  herds  of  the  North  Pacific. 

INTERNATIONAL    INTEREST    IN    THE    FUR-SEAL    HERDS. 

The  United  States  and  Russia  ou  the  one  hand,  and  Great  Britain  on  the  other,  are 
vitally  interested  in  this  industry,  the  former  nations  because  of  their  property  rights 
in  the  seals  and  the  revenue  they  should  derive  from  the  safe  and  legitimate  killing 
of  males  on  land;  the  latter  nation  through  the  interest  of  her  citizens  in  the  city  of 
London  engaged  in  the  dressing  and  dyeing  of  seal  skins.  Practically  all  the  seal 
skins  of  the  world  are  prepared  in  London.  Practically  all  the  seal  skins  of  the 
world  are  supplied  by  the  herds  frequenting  the  Pribilof  Islands  and  Commander 
Islands  and  belonging  to  the  United  States  and  Russia. 

UNITED  STATES  INTERESTS. 

Speaking  more  directly  for  the  interests  of  the  United  States,  it  may  be  said  that 
during  the  first  twenty  years  of  its  possession  of  the  islands  our  Government  derived 
an  annual  revenue  of  $317,500  in  tax  paid  by  the  lessees  of  the  rookeries.  During 
this  period  the  annual  quota  averaged  100,000.  With  a  like  quota  and  the  more 
advantageous  terms  of  the  present  lease  with  the  new  company,  the  United  States 
ought  now  to  be  receiving  a  revenue  of  $1,000.000  annually  from  its  fur-seal  herd; 
but  instead  it  receives  an  income  scarcely  sufficient  to  meet  the  cost  of  patrol  in  the 
enforcement  of  the  regulations  for  the  protection  of  the  herd. 

The  United  States  has  also  other  interests  than  its  revenue  under  the  lease.  For 
example,  it  derives  a  revenue  from  the  importation  of  prepared  skins  brought  from 
London  to  the  American  market.  Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  dressed  seal  skins  find 
their  ultimate  market  in  the  United  States.  On  the  75,000  skins  which  American 
dealers  should  now  be  importing  were  conditions  normal,  the  United  States  should  be 
deriving  an  annual  income  of  $375,000.  In  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  seal-skin 
garments  American  citizens  have  an  important  interest. 

Putting  these  various  elements  together,  it  will  be  seen  that  under  normal  con- 
ditions the  United  States  should  be  enjoying  to-day  an  income  of  about  $1,375,000' 
from  its  fur-seal  herd,  whereas  it  receives  less  than  one-fifth  this  amount. 


1  Case  of  United  States  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  Vol.  I,  p.  272. 

173 


174  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

RUSSIAN  INTERESTS. 

The  interest  of  Eussia  lies  solely  in  the  revenue  which  she  should  derive  from 
the  taking  of  seal  skins  on  her  islands.  Her  citizens  are  not  to  any  extent  engaged 
in  the  sale  and  manufacture  of  the  garments  made  from  the  skins. 

THE    INTEREST    OF    GREAT    BRITAIN. 

Great  Britain's  interest  in  the  fur-seal-skin  industry  is  next  in  importance  to  that 
of  the  United  States.  There  was  invested  in  the  city  of  London,  in  1892,  a  capital  of 
$5,000,000  engaged  in  the  work  of  dressing  and  dyeing  seal  skins.1  Between  2,000 
and  3,000  skilled  workmen  were  employed  in  the  business.  This  capital  and  labor, 
on  account  of  their  highly  specialized  nature,  can  not  be  advantageously  turned 
into  other  channels.  The  extermination  of  the  fur-seal  herds  means  the  ruin  of  the 
seal-skin  industry. 

THE    CANADIAN    PELAGIC    SEALING    INTERESTS. 

It  is  worth  while  here  to  contrast  the  value  and  importance  of  the  so-called 
industry  which  is  opposed  to  these  several  interests.  In  the  report  of  the  British 
commissioners  for  1892 2  we  find  this  statement:  "The  estimated  value  of  the  British 
Columbian  vessels  employed  in  sealing,  with  their  equipments,  as  they  sailed  in  1892, 
was  $359,000."  This  valuation  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  extreme  one,  and  the  vessels 
have  deteriorated  since.  Mr.  T.  T.  Williams1'  gives  the  value  of  the  Canadian  sealing 
fleet  of  24  vessels  in  1889,  including  outfits,  as  $173,350.  The  average  value  per  vessel 
would  according  to  this  be  approximately  $7,200.  For  the  49  vessels  in  1892  the 
average  valuation  would  be  $7,300.  A  recent  estimate  by  Capt.  C.  L.  Hooper4  of  the 
value  of  19  of  these  vessels  engaged  in  sealing  in  1896,  but  not  in  1897,  was  in  round 
numbers  $45,000,  which  would  give  an  average  valuation  of  $2,400  per  vessel,  a  figure 
probably  much  nearer  present  conditions. 

VALUATION    OF    THE    FLEET. 

Applying  this  later  valuation  to  the  entire  sealing  fleet  of  1896 — 21  American 
and  66  British  vessels — we  have  as  opposed  to  the  important  interests  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  a  capital  of  not  to  exceed  $208,000.  This  should  be 
contrasted  with  the  capital  of  $5,000,000  invested  in  the  preparation  of  the  seal  skins 
in  London  and  with  the  revenue  of  $1,375,000  a  year  which  the  United  States 
should  by  right  be  enjoying.  Taking  the  average  number  of  men  employed  per  vessel 
in  1889  and  1891,  we  find  that  for  the  fleet  of  87  vessels  in  1896  there  was  a  total  of 
2,000  white  men  and  Indians.  With  these  should  be  contrasted  the  2,000  or  more 
skilled  workmen  engaged  in  dyeing  and  dressing  the  seal  skins  in  London. 

The  pelagic  fleet  in  1896  took,  all  told,  about  70,000  skins,  worth  $7  apiece,  or  a 
gross  income  of  about  $490,000.  It  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  expense  of  fitting  out 
such  a  fleet,  but  if  we  take  out  of  this  gross  earning  of  a  little  less  than  half  a  million 
th.e  wages  of  2,000  men  for  from  three  to  six  months,  in  addition  to  the  provisions  for 

1  Case  of  United  States  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  vol.  I,  p.  273. 
2Proc.  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  vol.  6,  p.  35. 
3  Fur  Seal  Arb.,  vol.  3,  p.  499. 
4See  Appendix. 


EFFECTS    OF    PELAGIC    SEALING. 


175 


the  voyage,  the  profit  of  the  pelagic  investment  is  small.  In  fact,  it  is  not  a  matter  of 
profit  at  all,  but  one  of  loss.  The  true  nature  of  the  business  was  plain  in  1897,  when 
only  38  vessels  as  against  87  in  1896  engaged  in  sealing. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  A  SUICIDAL  INDUSTRY. 

This  effect  of  pelagic  sealing  upon  itself  is  interesting  and  important.  The  true 
character  of  the  industry  can  be  seen  from  the  following  tabulation  of  its  product 
under  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  award : 

Pelagic  catches,  1894-1897. 


North- 
west Coast. 

Bering 
Sea. 

1894          

24,  101 

31,585 

1895                                                  

12,  122 

a  44,  169 

1896  

14,  417 

29,  500 

1897                                                 

7,857 

16,464 

a,  In  1895  there  were  59  vessels  engaged  in  sealing,  as  against  37  in  1894. 

Not  only  is  pelagic  sealing  a  destructive  and  wasteful  industry,  but  it  is  suicidal 
in  its  nature.  It  is  at  best  but  an  insignificant  industry.  It  threatens  the  destruction 
of  vastly  more  important  interests  and  with  them  its  own  interests.  Pelagic  sealing 
preys  upon  its  own  capital.  The  more  successful  it  is  the  quicker  will  come  its  ruin. 
Its  bankrupt  condition  to-day  is  clearly  shown  in  the  declining  catch  and  the 
withdrawal  of  its  vessels. 

THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  DECLINING  CATCH. 

As  the  business  of  pelagic  sealing  is,  so  is  the  fur  seal-skin  trade.  Pelagic  sealing 
has  until  this  year  in  a  measure  supplied  the  deficiency  occasioned  by  the  decrease  in 
the  land  catch.  The  combined  land  and  sea  catches  of  1897,  however,  number  all  told 
only  about  60,000  skins.  The  pelagic  catch  alone  in  1894  furnished  140,000  skins. 

The  uncertainty  and  especially  the  inadequacy  of  the  supply  of  skins  has  seriously 
affected  the  seal  skin  market,  which  as  a  result  is  badly  demoralized.  The  effect  of 
the  shortage  of  supply  in  seal  skins  makes  it  necessary  to  substitute  other  furs.  This 
tends  to  drive  the  seal  skin  out  of  fashion,  as  the  substitute  becomes  itself  fashionable. 
Concerning  this  phase  of  the  question  we  may  quote  the  words  of  one  of  the  best 
informed  dealers  in  fur-seal  skins  who  said  in  a  recent  interview: 

The  seal  skin  will  probably  never  go  out  of  fashion  so  long  as  the  supply  is  fully  adequate  to  the 
demand.  But  if  the  supply  were  to  be  cut  off  or  reduced  too  low,  it  would  be  necessary  to  supply  the 
demand  from  other  furs  and  seal  skins  would  go  out  of  fashion.  What  is  worse,  with  the  change  of 
fashion  the  men  HOW  employed  in  curing  the  skins  would  have  to  seek  other  lines  of  work  and  would 
be  lost  to  the  business.  When  it  was  again  attempted  to  bring  the  seal  skin  into  fashion,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  train  up  a  new  set  of  men.  For  many  years  after  the  resumption  of  the  curing  of 
seal  skins  the  results  would  be  so  poor  and  unsatisfactory  that  they  could  not  be  sold  to  anyone 
familiar  Avith  the  present  grade  of  skins.  It  is  not  likely  therefore  that,  if  the  seal  skin  was  lost  to 
fashion  now,  it  could  be  brought  back  within  the  present  generation. 

THE  LEGALITY  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  pelagic  sealing,  the  sole  cause  of  the  threatened  destruction 
of  the  fur-seal  herd,  the  sole  obstacle  which  stands  in  the  way  of  its  restoration. 


I 


176  THE   FUR   SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Much  has  been  said  of  the  legality  of  pelagic  sealing,  and  to  this  we  take  no 
exception.  Pelagic  sealing  is  perfectly  legal,  but  this  legality  was  fixed  by  a  tribunal 
which  was  so  confused  by  false  testimony  and  ignorant  and  worthless  affidavits,  that, 
while  attempting  to  formulate  measures  for  the  protection  of  the  seals,  it  legalized 
the  very  cause  of  their  destruction.  But  the  whitewash  of  respectability  which  was 
thus  put  upon  pelagic  sealing  can  not  hide  its  true  character.  Judged  by  its  methods 
and  results,  it  is  merely  a  species  of  legalized  barbarism.  Pelagic  sealing  is  simply 
a  public  nuisance  which  can  now  only  be  disposed  of  by  an  international  agreement. 

THE  PROHIBITION  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING  TO  AMERICANS. 

It  is  with  a  great  sense  of  relief  that  we  find  ourselves  able  to  record  the  recent 
action  of  Congress  in  the  prohibition  of  the  practice  of  pelagic  sealing  by  our  own 
citizens  and  the  exclusion  of  skins  of  females  from  our  markets.  This  step  should 
have  been  taken  long  ago.  It  must  be  remembered  that  until  the  passage  of  this 
law1  Americans  as  well  as  Canadians  have  been  engaged  in  slaughtering  the  fur 
seals.  Of  the  87  vessels  which  took  seals  during  the  season  of  1896,  21  were  American. 
And  not  only  have  our  citizens  helped  to  destroy  our  own  herd,  but  they  have  crossed 
the  Pacific  and  have  been  instrumental  in  depleting  the  herd  of  friendly  Eussia. 
American  enterprise  has  also  had  the  leading  part  in  the  practical  extermination  of 
the  fur-seal  rookeries  of  the  Kuril  Islands,  belonging  to  Japan. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  DISTINCTLY  A  CANADIAN  INDUSTRY. 

Henceforth,  however,  our  hands  are  clean  and  we  can  with  dignity  and  assurance 
urge  that  other  nations  take  steps  to  put  an  end  to  the  business.  Pelagic  sealing — 
with  its  slaughter  of  gravid  females  and  the  starvation  of  their  dependent  young, 
with  its  waste  of  a  noble  and  valuable  animal  life,  with  its  threatened  destruction 
of  varied  and  important  commercial  enterprises  and  of  the  sole  source  of  supply  of  a 
commodity  of  utility  and  value  to  mankind — is  from  this  time  on  distinctly  a  Canadian 
industry  and  under  the  fostering  care  of  Great  Britain.  If  she  permits  its  continuance, 
the  odium  must  rest  with  her. 


1  See  text  of  this  law  in  Appendix  II  to  the  report. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE  RESULTS  OF  THE  PARIS  AWARD. 

A.  THE  ARBITRATION. 

Before  taking  up  the  question  of  what  benefits  have  resulted  to  the  fur-seal  herd 
from  the  regulations  formulated  by  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration,  it  will  be  worth 
our  while  to  review  briefly  the  history  of  the  fur-seal  controversy  which  led  up  to  the 
Tribunal. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  FUR-SEAL  QUESTION. 

It  was  not  until  after  the  extension  of  pelagic  sealing  into  Bering  Sea,  first  by 
unlawful  raiding  of  the  rookeries,  begun  about  the  year  1879,  and  afterwards,  by 
the  invasion  of  the  summer  feeding  grounds  of  the  herd  in  1880,  that  there  came  to 
be  a  fur  seal  question.  The  first  recorded  pelagic  catch  in  Bering  Sea  is  that  of  the 
schooner  City  of  San  Diego  in  the  year  1883.1 

THE  SEIZURE  OF  VESSELS. 

In  1886  a  large  fleet  of  sealing  vessels  was  engaged  in  Bering  Sea,  and  of  these  a 
number  were  seized  by  the  United  States  vessels  detailed  to  guard  the  islands, 
among  them  three  Canadian  schooners,  the  Carolina,  the  Onward,  and  the  Thornton. 
The  fleet  was  still  further  increased  in  the  following  year  and  more  seizures  were 
made.  Against  the  seizure  of  Canadian  vessels  Great  Britain  protested,  and  from 
the  resulting  correspondence  the  fur-seal  question,  as  we  now  know  it,  arose. 

EFFORTS  TO  SECURE  INTERNATIONAL  COOPERATION. 

Realizing  the  danger  which  threatened  its  fur-seal  herd  in  the  rapid  expansion  of 
pelagic  vsealing,  and  especially  in  its  extension  to  the  waters  adjacent  to  the  breeding 
grounds,  the  United  States,  in  1887,  opened  up  a  correspondence  with  the  Govern- 
ments of  Germany,  Sweden  and  Norway,  Russia,  Japan,  and  Great  Britain  with  a 
view  to  such  international  cooperation  as  should  secure  the  protection  of  the  herd. 
Secretary  Bayard,  in  his  letter  to.  these  several  Governments,  called  attention  to  the  , 
fact  that  "the  unregulated  and  indiscriminate  killing  of  the  seals  in  many  parts  of  the  j 
world  has  driven  them  from  place  to  place,  and  by  breaking  up  their  habitual  resorts    - 
has  greatly  reduced  their  numbers."    He  predicted  a  similar  result  to  the  seals  of  the 
northern  hemisphere,  unless  steps  were  taken  for  their  protection.    Nothing  came  of 
this  correspondence. 

PROPOSED  MEASURES  OF  PROTECTION 

In  the  year  1888  Secretary  Bayard  proposed  to  Great  Britain  that  by  mutual 
arrangement  among  the  nations  interested  there  should  be  established  a  close  season 

1  See  foot  note  to  page  142. 

177 
15184 12 


178  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

for  the  fur  seals  beginning  with  April  15  and  ending  with  November  1,  and  also  a 
closed  /one  covering  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  between  the  one  hundred  and  sixtieth 
degree  of  west  longitude  and  the  one  hundred  and  seventieth  degree  of  east  longitude, 
north  of  the  fiftieth  degree  of  north  latitude.  This  proposition  was  assented  to  by 
Lord  Salisbury  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  stipulation,  in  deference  to  the 
wish  of  the  Government  of  Russia,  that  the  provisions  of  such  an  arrangement  should 
be  extended  to  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  in  which  the  Commander  Islands  are  situated 
and  also  to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk.  This  extension  was  agreed  to  by  the  United  States. 

OBJECTION  BY  CANADA. 

When  the  negotiations  looking  to  an  agreement  on  this  basis  were  on  the  point 
of  a  successful  termination  they  were  suddenly  brought  to  a  standstill  by  objections 
on  the  part  of  Canada.  Great  Britain  declined  to  further  consider  the  matter 
without  the  consent  of  Canada,  which  could  not  be  obtained. 

THE  RENEWAL  OF  NEGOTIATIONS. 

In  view  of  this  state  of  affairs  United  States  vessels  in  1889  renewed  the  seizure 
of  sealing  vessels.  This  action  had  been  waived  the  preceding  year  in  view  of 
the  favorable  progress  of  the  negotiations.  In  the  spring  of  1890,  Great  Britain 
suggested  that  the  tripartite  arrangement  which  was  dropped  in  1888  be  resumed. 
This  suggestion  was  accompanied  by  a  change  on  her  part  of  the  original  proposition. 
It  was  now  asked  that  an  inquiry  be  made  by  a  mixed  commission  of  experts,  and 
that  pending  the  results  of  their  labors  pelagic  sealing  should  be  prohibited  in  the 
waters  of  Bering  Sea,  the  sea  of  Okhotsk,  and  adjoining  waters,  during  the  months 
of  May  and  June  and  during  the  months  of  October,  November,  and  December,  and 
at  all  times  within  a  radius  of  10  miles  of  the  breeding  islands. 

THE  COUNTER  PROPOSITION  UNSATISFACTORY. 

To  appreciate  the  nature  of  this  counter  proposition  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
the  summer  months  excepted  from  this  close  season  are  the  only  ones  in  which  the 
breeding  seals  are  regularly  in  Bering  Sea.  Secretary  Blaine,  who  had  succeeded 
Secretary  Bayard,  in  declining  this  proposition,  called  attention  to  its  radically 
different  nature  from  the  one  originally  accepted.  The  unreasonableness  of  the 
proposition  seemed,  in  Mr.  Elaine's  estimation,  sufficient  warrant  for  breaking  off 
the  negotiations,  but  as  he  intimated  they  were  continued  by  the  United  States  in 
the  hope  of  reaching  a  better  understanding. 

PROPOSALS  FOR  ARBITRATION. 

After  much  fruitless  correspondence  in  an  effort  to  secure  the  suspension  of 
pelagic  sealing  pending  further  negotiations,  Mr.  Blaine,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  submitted  a  series  of  propositions  which,  in  his  opinion,  might  furnish  the 
basis  of  an  arbitration  looking  to  the  final  settlement  of  the  matters  in  dispute. 
These  propositions  were  six  in  number.  The  first  five  provided  for  a  determination 
of  the  questions  of  jurisdictional  rights  in  Bering  Sea  exercised  by  Russia  and 
transferred  to  the  United  States,  and  of  the  property  rights  and  rights  of  protection 
which  the  United  States  possessed  over  the  seals  when  beyond  the  ordinary 
territorial  waters  about  the  islands. 


COMMISSION   OF    INQUIRY.  179 

In  the  event  of  an  adverse  decision  for  the  United  States  on  these  legal 
questions,  the  final  proposition  provided  that  the  court  of  arbitration  should  take  up 
a  consideration  of  the  rules  and  regulations  necessary  for  the  proper  protection  of 
the  herd  when  at  sea  and  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States.  These 
propositions,  after  amendment  and  discussion,  were  finally  accepted  as  the  basis  of 
an  arbitration  and  were  embodied  in  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great 
Britain,  signed  on  February  29,  1892,  and  duly  ratified.  This  treaty  is  printed  in 
Appendix  II  of  this  report. 

THE  MODUS  VIVENDI. 

While  the  discussion  of  the  treaty  was  under  way,  and  in  view  of  its  probable 
consummation,  a  modus  vivendi  was  agreed  to  in  June,  1891,  which  closed  Bering  Sea 
to  pelagic  sealing  and  limited  the  land  catch  on  the  islands  to  a  nominal  figure  for 
the  support  of  the  natives  depending  upon  the  fur  seals  for  food.  The  promulgation  of 
this  measure  was  too  late  in  the  season  to  make  it  possible  of  enforcement,  the  pelagic 
fleet  having  already  gone  to  sea.  After  the  signing  of  the  treaty  in  the  following  year 
this  modus  vivendi  was  renewed  and  continued  in  force  until  the  conclusion  of  the 
labors  of  the  arbitration  convention.  The  text  of  the  agreement  will  be  found  in 
Appendix  II. 

THE  JOINT  COMMISSION  OF  INQUIRY. 

In  the  progress  of  the  discussion  leading  up  to  the  convention  of  February,  1892, 
it  was  decided  that  a  commission  of  experts  representing  each  Government  should 
visit  the  seal  islands  and  report  on  the  habits  and  condition  of  the  fur-seal  herd  with 
a  view  to  the  information  of  the  arbitration  convention.  To  expedite  matters  this 
commission  was  tentatively  designated  and  entered  upon  its  work  in  the  summer  of 
1891,  being  officially  recognized  after  the  treaty  was  finally  agreed  to  in  the  spring  of 
1892. 

THE  TRIBUNAL  OF  ARBITRATION. 

In  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  1892  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration 
duly  convened  at  Paris  in  February,  1893,  and  concluded  its  labors  on  the  15th  of 
August.  Its  decision  of  the  legal  questions  involved  being  adverse  to  the  United 
States,  the  Tribunal  proceeded  to  formulate  regulations  for  the  protection  and 
preservation  of  the  fur  seals. 

JOINT  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSION. 

Before  taking  up  a  detailed  consideration  of  these  regulations  it  will  assist  us  in 
our  understanding  of  them  to  consider  briefly  the  results  of  the  investigations  on 
which  they  were  based.  The  joint  commission  of  investigation  representing  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain,  after  its  visit  to  the  islands  in  the  summer  of  1891, 
met  at  Washington  in  the  spring  of  1892,  and  after  much  discussion  found  itself 
unable  to  agree  upon  any  facts  of  importance  beyond  the  general  proposition  that 
the  fur-seal  herd  had  largely  declined  and  that  man  was  responsible  for  the  decline. 
Accordingly,  each  commission  of  investigation  submitted  a  separate  report  to  its 
Government.  These  reports  became  the  basis  of  each  nation's  contention  before  the 
Tribunal  regarding  the  condition  and  habits  of  the  fur  seals. 


180  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  AMERICAN  CONTENTION. 

The  Ainericati  contention  was  in  brief  that  the  decline  of  the  herd  was  due  to 
pelagic  sealing;  that  pelagic  killing  was  indiscriminate,  the  female  sex  predominating 
in  the  catch;  that  these  females  when  killed  off  the  Northwest  Coast  in  the  spring 
were  gravid,  and  when  killed  on  their  feeding  excursions  in  Bering  Sea  were  nursing, 
and  left  dependent  pups  upon  the  rookeries  whose  death  resulted  from  starvation. 

THE  BRITISH  CONTENTION. 

The  British  contention,  on  the  other  hand,  held  that  the  proportion  of  females  in 
the  pelagic  catch  was  comparatively  unimportant  and  composed  chiefly  of  barren 
cows;  that  nursing  females  did  not  leave  the  islands  while  their  pups  were 
dependent  upon  them;  that  in  case  they  did  so  leave  and  were  killed,  their  young 
could  be  nursed  by  other  cows  or  could  subsist  on  food  procured  from  the  sea. 
Having  thus  disposed  of  the  contention  of  the  United  States,  a  counter  proposition 
was  set  up  that  land  killing  as  practiced  on  the  islands  rather  than  sea  killing  was 
responsible  for  the  decline  of  the  herd. 

THEIR  COMPARATIVE  MERITS. 

It  is  not  the  intention  at  this  point  to  discuss  the  comparative  merits  of  these 
contentions.  They  have  been  fully  treated  in  the  preceding  pages.  It  is  sufficient 
here  to  say  that  subsequent  events  have  conclusively  proved  the  essential  truth  of 
the  American  contention  and  the  falsity  of  the  British  counter  claims.  From  the 
conflicting  evidence  brought  before  the  Tribunal,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  regulations 
formulated  by  it — which  are  a  blind  effort  at  compromise — are  an  utter  failure  for  the 
purpose  for  which  they  were  intended. 

B.  THE  REGULATIONS  OF  THE  AWARD. 

The  regulations  are  published  in  full  in  Appendix  II  to  this  report,  together  with 
a  more  extended  account  of  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  itself.  We  may  here  briefly 
summarize  the  provisions  of  these  regulations  as  follows:  (1)  the  establishment  of  a 
closed  /one  about  the  Pribilof  Islands  of  a  radius  of  60  miles;  (2)  a  closed  season 
from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  31st  of  July;  (3)  the  restriction  of  pelagic  sealing  to 
sailing  vessels  and  undecked  boats  and  canoes;  (4)  the  requirement  of  a  special  license 
and  flag  by  sealing  vessels;  (5)  a  record  of  the  place,  number,  and  sex  of  seals  taken; 
(0)  a  proficiency  requirement  on  the  part  of  those  engaging  in  the  business;  (7)  the 
exemption  of  Indians  on  the  Northwest  Coast  from  the  provisions  of  the  regulations; 
(8)  a  provision  for  the  reconsideration  of  the  regulations  at  the  end  of  five  years  if 
found  to  be  inadequate.  These  regulations  were  put  into  operation  by  appropriate 
legislation  both  by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1894. 

THE  MINOR  PROVISIONS. 

The  minor  provisions  of  the  regulations  we  need  not  dwell  upon.  Sailing  vessels 
are  doubtless  the  only  ones  which  can  profitably  be  used  in  the  business.  The  license 
and  flag  are  no  doubt  useful,  but  immaterial.  The  prohibition  of  firearms  in  Bering 
Sea  is  a  provision  wholly  in  the  interests  of  the  sealers.  The  proficiency  requirement 
borders  on  the  ridiculous.  Exemption  of  the  Northwest  Coast  Indians  is  just  and 


EFFECTS    OF    THE    REGULATIONS.  181 

proper,  but  the  discrimination  against  the  Aleuts  on  the  shores  of  Bering  Sea  is 
unjust.  These  requirements,  one  and  all,  have  absolutely  no  bearing  upon  the  welfare 
of  the  seals. 

The  requirement  regarding  the  record  by  the  sealing  captains  of  the  sex  of 
animals  taken  was  a  useful  one,  as  providing  a  means  for  the  securing  of  valuable 
data  bearing  upon  the  effects  of  the  regulations.  The  method  was,  however, 
unfortunate,  and  for  the  very  natural  reason  that  it  could  not  be  expected  that  the 
sealers  would  take  the  trouble  to  make  honest  reports  which  must  be  injurious  in  the 
highest  degree  to  their  business.  The  sequel  shows,  as  we  have  already  pointed  out, 
that  they  can  not  be  depended  upon  for  correct  information. 

THE  SIXTY-MILE  ZONE. 

The  remaining  provisions  are  more  vital.  The  60-mile  zone  about  the  islands  has 
a  positive  value  in  keeping  vessels  at  such  distance  from  the  rookeries  as  to  make 
successful  raiding  impossible.  When  we  have  said  this  regarding  the  protected  zone, 
we  have  stated  its  only  importance.  The  feeding  grounds  of  the  seals  lie  far  outside 
of  its  limits.  On  the  journeys  to  and  from  the  grounds  the  seals  do  not  loiter  much 
in  the  protected  area.  A  protected  zone,  to  be  of  any  value,  should  cover  and 
include  the  feeding  grounds  to  which  the  nursing  females  resort. 

THE  CLOSE  SEASON. 

The  provision  for  a  close  season  is  of  more  importance,  though  even  its  value  is 
by  no  means  great.  It  shuts  off  that  catch  which  was  formerly  made  in  May  along 
the  southern  shore  of  the  Alaskan  Peninsula  and  the  Aleutian  Islands.  This  catch 
was  unusually  destructive,  because  the  females  were  growing  heavy  with  pup.  Under 
the  regulations  these  animals,  which  have  escaped  from  the  hunters  off  the  coast  in 
March  and  April,  are  allowed  to  continue  their  way  in  peace  to  the  islands.  During 
June  and  July  they  are  protected,  but  as  they  then  spend  a  large  part  of  the  time  on 
shore  the  protection  is  not  so  important  as  it  seems. 

REGULATIONS  ADAPTED  TO  WORK  OF  SEALERS. 

As  if  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  sealers  and  against  those  of  the  seals,  the  sea  is 
opened  on  the  1st  of  August  at  the  time  when,  under  the  necessity  of  furnishing 
nourishment  for  their  growing  offspring,  the  mother  seals  are  forced  to  spend  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  on  the  feeding  grounds.  To  understand  fully  the  destructive 
force  of  this  month  of  August,  it  is  only  necessary  to  observe  that  in  the  spring  the 
herd  is  constantly  moving  on,  and  there  is  more  or  less  difficulty  in  locating  it.  In 
Bering  Sea  the  seals  frequent  certain  feeding  banks  regularly,  coming  and  going  at 
intervals.  If  a  seal  is  not  taken  at  her  first  trip,  other  opportunities  will  occur  on  her 
second  and  subsequent  trips.  The  sealer  has  only  to  wait  for  her,  and  in  the  meantime 
go  on  taking  other  seals. 

The  close  season,  therefore,  offers  little  protection  to  the  female  fur  seal.  It 
permits  her  to  escape  at  one  place  and  time  only  to  allow  her  to  be  taken  at  another 
and  more  favorable  time  and  place.  It  saves  her  from  death  before  the  birth  of  her 
offspring  only  to  leave  her  liable  to  be  killed  after  it  is  born  and  to  subject  her 
offspring  to  death  by  starvation. 


182  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

To  the  pelagic  sealer  the  close  season  offers  110  impediment  and  entails  no  loss. 
He  can  rest  assured  that  the  seals  he  is  prevented  from  taking  in  the  North  Pacific 
will  be  more  easily  taken  in  Bering  Sea  in  August,  when  the  storms  of  the  early 
summer  are  over  and  the  conditions  in  every  way  more  favorable.  In  the  meantime 
he  is  given  opportunity  to  refit  his  vessel,  or  he  may  cross  over  to  the  Asiatic  side  at 
the  beginning  of  the  close  season  and  prey  upon  the  Commander  herd  before  returning 
to  Bering  Sea  in  August. 

On  the  whole,  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  a  more  comfortable  and  convenient  set  of 
regulations  could  have  been  prepared  had  the  pelagic  sealers  themselves  drawn  them 
up.  It  is  difficult  to  see  how  they  could  be  made  more  destructive  to  the  herd  if  that 
had  been  their  deliberate  intent. 

THE  COST  OF  ENFORCING  THE  REGULATIONS. 

It  is  not  enough,  however,  that  these  regulations  legalize  the  destruction  of  the 
herd.  They  are  necessarily  maintained  at  a  tremendous  cost.  The  Government  of 
the  United  States  paid  for  the  maintenance  of  its  patrol  in  the  North  Pacific  and  in 
Bering  Sea  during  the  period  from  April  to  October,  1896,  the  sum  of  $176,380.10. 
The  cost  to  Great  Britain  for  her  share  in  the  patrol  was  smaller,  but  yet  a 
considerable  sum. 

THE  FAILURE  OF  THE  REGULATIONS. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  Award  have 
proved  a  signal  failure.  As  has  already  been  shown,  the  herd  has  continued  to 
decline  steadily  under  them.  The  herd  suffered  its  greatest  loss  under  the  first  year 
of  their  operation,  when  61,000  animals  were  taken  at  sea.  In  the  year  1896,  of  the 
catch  taken  in  Bering  Sea,  84  per  cent  were  females,  practically  all  of  them  pregnant 
and  having  nursing  pups  dependent  upon  them.  Between  the  seasons  of  1896  and 
1897  the  breeding  herd  suffered  a  diminution  of  from  12  to  15  per  cent,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  the  pelagic  catch  had  largely  declined  through  the  exhaustion  of  the 
herd.  To  this  it  is  only  necessary  to  add  that  under  the  rigid  patrol  which  has  been 
maintained  the  regulations  have  been  strictly  enforced  and  fully  complied  with.  No 
further  condemnation  of  these  measures  for  the  "protection  and  preservation  of  the 
seals"  could  be  expected. 

THE  REDEEMING  FEATURE  OF  THE  REGULATIONS. 

The  one  redeeming  feature  about  the  regulations  is  the  final  provision  for  their 
reconsideration  and  revision.  The  only  difficulty  here  is  that  the  trial  period  fixed  at 
five  years  was  too  long.  One  season  would  have  been  sufficient  to  test  them.  They 
were  calculated  to  show  their  quality  at  once.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  clearly 
demonstrated  by  the  recorded  catch  of  the  first  season  of  their  operation  that  they 
had  stimulated  rather  than  retarded  pelagic  sealing  and  consequently  had  heightened 
the  decline  of  the  herd.  That  a  fleet  of  87  vessels  in  the  first  year  of  the  operation 
of  the  regulations  should  have  been  able  to  take  61,000  seals,  whereas  115  vessels, 
in  1891,  before  pelagic  sealing  was  interfered  with,  took  but  59,000,  was  clear  enough 
evidence  that  the  regulations  had  only  altered  matters  for  the  worse. 


OBLIGATION    TO    PROTECT    THE    SEALS.  183 

THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  ARBITRATORS. 

The  final  provision  of  the  regulations  has  another  feature  of  importance — it 
defines  the  purpose  of  their  formulation.  This  is  "the  protection  and  preservation  of 
the  fur  seals."  It  is  fortunate  that  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  placed  this  matter  on 
record,  as  otherwise  its  work  in  framing  these  measures  would  be  without  justification 
and  its  own  sincerity  could  be  called  into  question.  Truth  enough  to  condemn  every 
feature  of  the  regulations  was  placed  before  the  Tribunal,  but  the  real  issues  were  so 
thoroughly  confused  by  the  statements  made  in  opposition  that  the  outcome  was  a 
matter  of  chance.  This  is  the  only  explanation  which  can  be  offered  for  the  irrecon- 
cilable difference  between  the  evident  purpose  and  the  actual  achievement  of  the 
regulations. 

THE  OBLIGATION  TO  PROTECT  AND   PRESERVE. 

This  statement  of  the  purpose  of  the  Tribunal  has  another  important  bearing.  It 
leaves  no  doubt  that  the  obligation  to  protect  and  preserve  the  fur  seals  was  laid  upon 
the  two  nations  concerned  by  their  acceptance  of  the  decision.  From  all  this  it  must 
follow  that  at  the  close  of  the  trial  period  of  five  years,  if  not  before,  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  must  take  up  seriously  the  reconsideration  of  these  regulations, 
and  by  their  emendation  or  by  the  substitution  of  more  adequate  measures  provide 
for  what  was  plainly  the  object  of  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration,  namely,  the  protection 
and  preservation  of  the  fur-seal  herd. 


C  IT  A  P  T  F,  Tl   X  V  T  . 

SUMMARY  OF  CONCLUSIONS. 

Before  passing  to  a  consideration  of  the  final  topic,  the  remedy  for  the  condition 
of  the  herd,  we  may  give  the  following  brief  statement  of  the  chief  facts  concerning 
the  fur-seal  herd  which  have  a  bearing  on  its  future  protection  and  preservation. 
This  statement,  while  in  a  sense  a  summary  of  the  preceding  discussions,  was 
originally  prepared  by  Messrs.  Hamlin  and  Jordan,  the  American  delegates  to  the 
recent  Fur-Seal  Conference  at  Washington,  for  the  use  of  the  conference.  A  few  of 
the  estimates  here  given  may  be  open  to  difference  of  opinion,  but  in  general  the 
accuracy  of  these  statements  has  not  been  questioned  and  can  not  be : 

STATEMENTS  OF  FACT. 

The  delegates  of  the  United  States  present  for  the  consideration  of  the  meeting 
of  experts  the  following  statements  of  fact  regarding  the  condition  of  the  fur-seal 
herd  resorting  to  the  Pribilof  Islands: 

1.  Since  the  year  1885  the  fur-seal  herd,  as  measured  by  its  breeding  females,  has 
steadily  declined  in  numbers  at  a  rate  varying  from  year  to  year. 

2.  The  best  available  measure  of  this  decline  is  found  in  these  facts: 

(a)  During  the  period  between  1871  and  1885  no  difficulty  was  experienced  in 
obtaining  each  year  100,000  male  seals  of  recognized  killable  age  by  the  20th  of  July. 

(b)  In  1896  only  30,000  killable  seals  were  taken  after  continuing  the  driving 
until  July  27,  and  in  1897  only  20,890  were  taken  after  continuing  the  driving  until 
August  11. 

3.  From  this  and  other  data  it  would  appear  that  the  herd  of  breeding  females  on 
the  Pribilof  Islands  in  the  years  1871-1885  must  have  been  about  five  times  as  great 
as  at  present,  or  from  600,000  to  700,000  in  number. 

4.  The  natural  life  of  the  female  fur  seal  is  estimated  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  years. 
Assuming  thirteen  years  as  an  average,  each  female  would  have  ten  years  of  breeding 
life.    If  this  be  true,  10  per  cent  of  the  breeding  females  die  of  old  age  each  winter  in 
addition  to  the  unknown  losses  from  other  causes.    The  stock  of  breeding  females  is 
recruited  solely  by  the  accession  each  year  of  3-year-old  cows. 

5.  The  natural  death  rate  among  the  young  fur  seals,  especially  among  the  pups, 
is  very  great.    At  present  about  two-thirds  die  from  natural  causes  before  they  reach 
the  age  of  3  years,  or  killable  age  for  the  males  and  breeding  age  for  the  females. 

6.  The  chief  natural  causes  of  death  among  the  pups  are: 

(a)  Eavages  of  the  parasitic  worm,  Uncinaria,  infesting  sandy  breeding  areas. 
(6)  Trampling  by  fighting  or  moving  bulls  and  cows. 

(c)  Starvation  of  pups  strayed  or  separated  from  their  mothers  when  very  young. 

(d)  Eavages  of  the  great  killer  ( Orca). 

(e)  Drowning  in  the  storms  of  winter. 
184 


STATEMENTS    OF    FACTS.  185 

The  natural  losses  from  other  causes  are  relatively  small. 

7.  Counts  and  estimates  show  that  the  number  of  breeding  females  bearing  pups 
on  the  rookeries  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  in  1896  was  about  157,000  and  in  1897  > 
about  130,000. 

8.  On  certain  rookeries  pups  were  counted  during  both  seasons.    Where  16,241 
were  found  in  1896,  14,318  were  found  in  1897,  a  decrease  of  about  12  per  cent.    The 
harems  on  all  the  rookeries  were  counted  during  both  seasons.    In  1896  there  were 
4,932;  in  1897,  4,418,  a  decrease  of  10.41  per  cent.    The  cows  actually  present  on 
certain  rookeries  at  the  height  of  the  season  were  counted  both  seasons.     Where 
10,198  were  found  in  1896,  7,307  were  found  in  1897,  a  decrease  of  28.34  per  cent. 

9.  It  is  not  possible  to  state  absolutely  the  decline  in  the  actual  number  of 
breeding  cows  from  1896  to  1897,  but  it  is  not  far  from  15  per  cent. 

10.  The  number  of  killable  seals  taken  on  the  islands  in  1897  shows  a  decrease  of 
about  30  per  cent  from  the  number  taken  in  1896.     This  represents  approximately  the 
decrease  in  the  3-year-old  breeders  which  entered  the  rookeries  in  1897,  the  number 
of  males  and  females  born  being  practically  equal. 

11.  Land  killing  is  not  now  a  factor  in  the  decline  of  the  herd,  and  has  not  been 
since  the  islands  came  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States.    It  has  not  caused 
injury  to  the  breeding  herd  either  by  undue  reduction  in  the  number  of  males  or  by 
impairing  their  virility,  or  in  any  other  way. 

12.  Land  killing  has  tended  to  increase  the  size  of  the  breeding  herd  by  the 
reduction  of  the  number  of  adult  bulls  and  their  consequent  fighting,  which  results 
in  the  destruction  of  females  and  pups. 

13.  No  appreciable  part  of  the  decline  of  the  herd  is  due  to  illegal  killing  or  killing 

r 

sea,  with  the  resulting  starvation  of  nursing  pups  and  the  destruction  of  unborn  pups. 

15.  Pelagic   sealing  necessarily  involves   indiscriminate   killing  of   males  and      \ 
females.    The  greater  proportion  of  the  animals  taken  in  the  pelagic  catch  are  females. 
The  statistics  for  the  American  catch,  obtained  by  expert  examination  in  the  custom- 
houses, show  an  average  of  78  per  cent  for  the  years  1894,  1895,  and  1896.    The 
examination  of  pelagic  skins  in  London  confirms  this  percentage.1 

16.  The  natural  increase  of  the  breeding  herd  is  about  16|  per  cent  each  year,  being 
one-half  of  the  surviving  3-year-olds.    The  natural  death  rate  from  old  age  each  year 
is  not  far  from  10  per  cent.     The  death  rate  of  adults  from  other  causes  can  not  be 
accurately  estimated.     The  killing  of  females  by  the  hand  of  man  therefore  can  not 
reach  6§  per  cent  of  the  total  number  each  year  without  involving  the  decline  of  the 
herd.     If  the  herd  is  to  be  restored,  the  killing  of  female  seals  should  not  be  permitted. 

17.  As  neither  land  killing  nor  sea  killing  now  yields  a  profit  for  the  money 
invested  and  for  the  money  spent  in  protection,  the  fur-seal  herd  is  therefore,  from  a 
commercial  point  of  view,   virtually  destroyed.    But  this    has  not    involved  the 
biological  destruction  of  the  herd.     Under  wise  protection  it  may  regain  its  former 
numbers. 


in  defiance  of  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  award. 

14.  The  reduction  in  the  breeding  herd  has  been  due  to  the  killing  of  females  at     \  V 


1  To  this  may  be  added  the  testimony  of  Mr.  Halkett,  obtaineds  ince  the  original  preparation  of 
this  statement,  showing  the  percentage  of  females  in  the  Bering  Sea  catch  for  1896  to  be  84  per  cent. 


186  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

18.  In  our  judgment  all  facts  in  any  way  vital  to  international  action  regarding 
the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur-seal  herd  are  now  in  the  possession  of  both 
Governments. 

19.  These  facts  show  that  the  herd  has  largely  declined  from  its  original  condition 
and  from  its  condition  in  1891  and  in  1894;  that  it  is  still  declining,  and  that  the 
cause  of  the  decline  is  the  slaughter  of  females  involved  in  pelagic  sealing. 

20.  The  regulations  of  the  Paris  award  have  proved  ineffective  to  protect  and 
preserve  the  herd.    They  have  not  prevented  its  decline,  \vhich  has  continued  and 
must  continue  in  spite  of  them.    They  can  not  bring  about  a  restoration  of  the  herd, 
as  they  permit  the  killing  of  females  in  numbers  vastly  in  excess  of  their  natural 
increase. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE  REMEDY  FOR  THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  HERD. 

We  have  thus  covered  the  first  three  divisions  of  our  subject.  We  have  found 
the  seal  herd  diminished  to  between  one-fifth  and  one-sixth  of  its  original  size  and 
still  declining.  The  cause  of  this  decline  is  simply  and  solely  the  slaughter  of  females 
at  sea.  The  imminence  of  the  danger  thus  threatened  to  the  herd  may  be  judged  by 
the  extent  of  the  loss  which  has  already  been  inflicted  and  by  the  fact  that  at  ohe 
present  time  the  herd  is  commercially  ruined  both  on  land  and  at  sea.  Tbe  regulations 
provided  for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  herd  are  utterly  ineffective. 

REVISION  OF  THE  REGULATIONS  NOT  ADEQUATE. 

The  fourth  division  of  our  inquiry  must  therefore  be  short.  It  follows,  of  course, 
that  some  radical  change  is  necessary.  This  can  not  be  brought  about  by  alterations 
in  the  present  regulations  or  the  substitution  of  new  ones.  It  is  not  a  question  of  the 
regulation  of  pelagic  sealing,  but  of  its  abolition  and  the  cessation  of  all  traffic  in  the 
skins  of  females.  The  nature  of  the  problem  is  such  that  the  killing  of  seals  at 
sea  in  any  form  and  under  any  restrictions  that  can  be  made  effective  is  wholly 
incompatible  with  the  preservation  and  restoration  of  the  herd. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  CAN  NOT  EXIST  WITHOUT  THE  KILLING  OF  FEMALES. 

It  is  impossible  to  distinguish  the  sex  of  the  animals  at  sea  and  so  exempt  the 
females.  It  is  immaterial  whether  the  animal  is  shot  or  speared,  so  long  as  it  is  killed. 
It  makes  no  difference  whether  the  female  is  killed  when  heavy  with  young  on  the 
migrations  or  whether  she  is  left  to  bring  forth  her  young  and  is  then  killed,  leaving 
the  young  to  starve.  The  herd  could  be  commercially  ruined  in  the  single  month  of 
August  on  its  feeding  grounds  in  Bering  Sea,  even  if  all  other  sealing  were  prohibited. 
If  Bering  Sea  were  fully  closed,  the  concentration  of  the  operations  of  the  fleet  off 
the  Northwest  Coast  would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  continued,  though  perhaps 
slower,  decline  of  the  herd.  So  long  as  pelagic  sealing  exists  in  any  form  or  at  any 
time  or  place,  females  will  be  killed,  and  their  continued  slaughter  means  the  ultimate 
destruction  of  the  herd,  biologically  as  well  as  commercially. 

THE  TOTAL  PROHIBITION  OF  PELAGIC  SEALING  THE  ONLY  REMEDY. 

In  a  word,  there  is  no  remedy  for  the  present  decline  of  the  herd,  nor  hope  for  its      \ 
restoration  and  preservation,  except  in  the  absolute  and  permanent  prohibition  of 

pelagic  sealing. 

187 


CHAPTER  X  V  T  1  T  . 

THE  FUTURE  OF  THE  FUR-SEAL  HERD. 

A  RECONSIDERATION  OF  THE  QUESTION. 

With  the  season  of  1898  will  close  the  five  year  trial  period  of  the  regulations 
of  the  Paris  Tribunal  of  Arbitration.  These  regulations  were,  as  we  have  seen, 
formulated  for  the  "protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur  seals."  In  the  treaty 
of  1892,  under  which  the  arbitration  was  convened,  "the  preservation  of  the  fur 
seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,''  Bering  Sea  was  expressly  designated  as  part  of 
the  object  of  the  convention.  Furthermore,  in  the  declarations  which  the  tribunal 
made  to  the  respective  governments  concerned  we  find  that  "in  view  of  the  critical 
condition  to  which  it  now  appears  certain  that  the  race  of  fur  seals  is  reduced"  it 
was  recommended  that  all  killing  of  seals,  whether  on  land  or  at  sea,  be  prohibited 
for  an  agreed  period  of  years.  From  these  references,  it  must  be  clear  that  the 
avowed  purpose  and  intention  of  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  was  to  accomplish 
the  protection  of  the  fur-seal  herd.  It  is  equally  clear  that  the  responsibility  for 
carrying  this  purpose  was  placed  upon  the  nations  concerned  in  the  arbitration  and 
which  accepted  its  decision. 

A  BASIS  FOR  THE  REOPENING  OF  THE  SUBJECT. 

In  approaching  a  reconsideration  of  the  regulations  the  two  nations  have  now 
a  much  clearer  knowledge  of  the  conditions  surrounding  the  problem.  As  a  result 
of  the  recent  conference  of  American,  British,  and  Canadian  fur-seal  experts  at 
Washington,  an  agreement  as  to  facts  was  reached  sufficiently  broad  and  conclusive 
to  show  the  true  condition  of  the  herd,  the  cause  of  its  decline,  and  the  remedy. 
This  joint  agreement  will  be  found  in  full  in  Appendix  II  of  this  report.  We  may 
here  briefly  summarize  its  conclusions: 

FINDINGS  OF  FACT. 
THE  DECLINE. 

First,  it  is  found  that  the  fur-seal  herd  has  declined  largely  from  its  condition  in 
1884  down  to  the  date  of  the  inspection  of  the  rookeries  in  1897.  This  means  that 
the  herd  has  continued  to  decline  under  the  regulations.  The  decrease  is  stated  as 
equal  to  from  two-thirds  to  four-fifths  of  its  maximum  size.  Between  the  seasons  of 
1896  and  1897  the  rate  of  decline  is  found  from  the  most  reliable  data  to  be  between 
9  and  12  per  cent.  For  this  same  period  the  pelagic  catch  has  itself  declined  fully 
one-half. 

SLOW   BATE   OF   INCREASE  IN   THE   HERD. 

Second,  it  is  found  that  the  natural  death  rate  among  the  seals,  especially  the 
young,  is  high,  so  that  but  one-half  to  one-third  of  those  born  attain  the  age  of  three 
years.    This  means  that  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  fur-seal  herd  under  the  best  of 
</     conditions  is  slow. 

188 


THE  RUIN  OF  THE  HERD. 


MALES  CAN  BE  KILLED  WITH  IMPUNITY. 


189 


Third,  it  is  agreed  that  owing  to  the  polygamous  habit  of  the  fur  seal,  coupled 
with  an  equal  birth  rate  of  the  sexes,  it  is  possible  to  remove  a  large  number  of  males  <- 
with  impunity,  and  that  the  operations  of  land  killing  as  now  conducted  do  not  affect 
the  virility  of  the  males  or  fail  to  leave  an  adequate  supply  of  male  life  for  breeding 
purposes.  As  land  killing  has  always  been  confined  to  the  males,  and  as  its  operations 
are  to-day  what  they  have  been  since  the  herd  came  into  American  control,  except  in 
so  far  as  they  have  been  improved,  this  means  that  land  killing  is  not  and  has  not 
been  a  factor  iu  the  decline  of  the  herd. 

EXCESSIVE   DESTRUCTION   OF   FEMALES. 

Fourth,  it  is  agreed  that  pelagic  sealing  involves  the  killing  of  males  and  females 
alike  without  discrimination,  as  the  sexes  coexist  in  the  sea;  that  the  proportion  of 
females  taken  in  the  pelagic  catches  of  recent  years  has  been  from  62  to  84  per  cent; 
that  the  females  so  taken  are  in  large  part  pregnant  and  nursing,  their  death  involving 
the  death  of  their  offspring.  It  is  agreed  that  this  abstraction  of  breeding  females, 
which  in  recent  years  has  been  largely  in  excess  of  the  natural  increment  of  the  herd, 
has  gone  too  far,  and  has  caused  the  diminution  found  in  the  herd.  In  other  words, 
put  in  plain  terms,  this  means  that  pelagic  sealing  has  been  the  cause  of  the  decline 
in  the  fur-seal  herd. 

COMPROMISE   FINDINGS. 

It  is  also  agreed  th      a  limited  number  of  females,  within  the  natural  increment 
of  the  herd,  may  be  killed  without  causing  actual  diminution.     It  is  found  that  in 
the  rapid  decline  of  the  pelagic  catch  there  is  a  tendency  toward  equilibrium  at  this 
point  of  safety.    It  is  further  found  that  as  a  species  the  fur  seal  is  far  from  being 
exterminated,  and  that  under  the  present  conditions  of  protection  such  extermination 
is  not  probable.    These  statements  are  self-evident  truths,  though  wholly  irrelevant  ' 
to  the  question.    We  have  already  discussed  this  supposed  equilibrium.    The  supposed 
safety  of  the  herd  as  a  species  is  made  to  depend  upon  the  maintenance  of  a  costly  ? 
patrol,  which  would  naturally  be  abandoned  by  the  United  States  if  it  saw  no  hope 
of  the  restoration  of  its  industry. 

THE   HERD   COMMERCIALLY  RUINED. 

Finally,  it  is  agreed  that  the  herd  in  its  present  condition  yields  but  an  inconsiderable 
return  either  to  the  lessees  of  the  islands  or  to  the  owners  of  the  pelagic  fleet.  In  a 
word,  it  is  agreed  that  the  fur-seal  herd  has  declined  until  it  is  commercially  ruined 
both  on  laud  and  at  sea ;  that  land  killing  is  not  responsible  for  this  decline,  and  that 
pelagic  sealing  is  responsible. 

PELAGIC  SEALING  INCOMPATIBLE  WITH  PRESERVATION  OF  HERD. 

We  have  shown  clearly  enough  in  our  discussion  of  the  methods  and  conditions 
of  pelagic  sealing  that  the  continuance  of  the  industry  in  any  form  is  incompatible 
with  the  preservation  and  restoration  of  the  fur-seal  herd.  In  taking  up  a 
reconsideration  of  the  matter  there  is  but  one  thing  to  do,  namely,  abolish  pelagic 
sealing;  in  other  words,  remove  the  cause  of  the  decline.  This  is  the  task  which  must 
confront  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  as  well  at  the  close  of  the  season  of  1898. 


190  THE    FUR   SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  SKIN  OF  A  FEMALE  TO  BE  CONTRABAND. 

As  to  ways  and  means  for  accomplishing  the  desired  end  we  have  nothing-  to 
offer.  We  are  glad  to  be  able  to  call  attention  to  the  action  of  our  Government  in  the 
passage  of  the  bill  forbidding  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  engage  in  pelagic 
sealing.  We  may  suggest  that  should  Great  Britain  enact  and  enforce  a  similar  law 
this  would  end  the  matter.  If  the  fur-seal  herd  is  to  be  preserved  its  breeding  females 
must  be  protected  from  slaughter.  To  make  the  skin  of  a  female  fur  seal  a  contraband 
article,  subject  to  seizure  and  confiscation  when  brought  into  a  port  of  a  civilized 
nation,  will  protect  her  from  slaughter. 

THE  PROPOSED  EXTERMINATION  BY  SLAUGHTER  ON  THE  ROOKERIES. 

We  have  had  occasion,  in  the  preliminary  reports  of  the  commission,  to  denounce 
a  method  of  settling  the  fur-seal  question,  which  has  already  received  more  attention 
than  it  merits,  namely,  the  extinction  of  the  herd  by  the  slaughter  of  the  animals  on 
their  breeding  grounds.  We  trust  that  the  day  is  passed  when  such  a  proposition 
would  be  tolerated.  The  measure  is  an  abominable  one,  without  a  single  redeeming 
feature.  It  would  condense  into  one  wholesale  act  all  the  objectionable  features  in 
pelagic  sealing,  against  which  we,  as  a  nation,  have  been  from  the  first  contending; 
and  it  would  lodge  upon  us  alone  and  for  all  time  the  odium  for  the  extermination  by 
a  barbarous  method  of  a  noble  race  of  animals.  The  United  States  can  not  afford  to 
shirk  her  responsibility  for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur  seals  by  any 
such  makeshift.  It  remains  for  the  two  great  nations  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the 
fur-seal  herd,  and  under  obligation  to  look  after  that  welfare,  to  find  a  way  of  settling 
the  problem  that  shall  be  effective  and  honorable. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  FUR-SEAL  HERD. 

We  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  the  importance  of  the  fur-seal  herd  as 
a  property  investment,  adding  to  the  wealth  and  comfort  of  mankind.  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States  both  share  in  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  the  legitimate 
product  of  the  herd,  the  former  through  the  interests  of  her  citizens  in  the  preparation 
of  the  seal  skins  for  the  market,  the  latter  through  the  revenue  she  derives  under  her 
lease. 

In  its  present  condition  the  fur-seal  herd  is  sadly  reduced.  Under  the  expensive 
conditions  of  protection  necessitated  by  the  existence  of  pelagic  sealing  the  profits  of 
its  product  on  land  are  eaten  up.  But  even  now,  if  the  present  expensive  patrol  could 
be  waived,  the  return  from  the  herd  would  be  by  no  means  insignificant.  Under  the 
quota  of  1897  the  revenue  to  the  Government  can  not  be  far  from  $250,000,  5  per  cent 
on  an  investment  of  $5,000,000. 

A  STRONG-  NUCLEUS  REMAINS. 

The  nucleus  of  the  herd  which  remains  is  strong  and  vigorous.  Under  proper- 
conditions  it  will  increase,  and  in  fifteen  or  twenty  years  should  equal  its  maximum 
condition.  This  would  mean,  under  the  present  lease  of  the  islands,  a  revenue  in  tax 
alone  of  $1,000,000  annually.  But  with  proper  protection  the  product  of  the  herd 
from  the  start  would  increase  and  grow  as  the  herd  grows,  becoming  greater  each 
year,  until  normal  conditions  were  again  reached. 


OF  THB 

UNIVERSITY 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Assuming  that  the  fur-seal  herd  will  ultimately  receive  that  protection  which  it 
deserves,  it  is  in  order  for  us  to  make  certain  recommendations  and  suggestions  which 
naturally  grow  out  of  our  investigations  of  the  past  two  seasons. 

INADEQUACY  OF  PAST  KNOWLEDGE. 

We  have  had  occasion  in  our  present  discussion  to  point  out  the  faulty  and 
misleading  character  of  much  of  the  information  which  has  been  published  concerning 
the  fur-seal  herd.  It  is  not  necessary  to  recur  to  it  here.  We  must,  however,  note 
the  fact  that  between  the  first  two  investigations  instituted  by  the  Government  a 
period  of  fifteen  years  elapsed,  during  which  there  was  absolutely  no  provision  made 
for  obtaining  information  concerning  the  real  condition  of  its  breeding  herd. 

THE  AGENTS  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  NOT  INVESTIGATORS. 

After  the  investigations  of  Mr.  Elliott,  covering  the  period  from  1872  to  1876, 
tlie  herd  was  given  over  to  untrained  men,  who  were  not  prepared  to  conduct  the 
investigations  necessary  to  understand  the  nature  of  the  trust  they  were  set  to  guard. 
To  make  matters  worse,  these  men  were  speedily  replaced  by  others  equally  inex- 
perienced as  soon  as,  by  reason  of  practical  contact  with  the  affairs  of  the  islands, 
they  began  to  acquire  some  knowledge  of  their  duties.  The  result  is  that  the  herd 
passed  unnoticed  from  its  state  of  maximum  prosperity  into  one  of  rapid  decline,  and 
was  reduced  to  one-half  its  size  before  the  Government  or  its  agents  were  made  aware 
of  the  fact. 

THE  FAILURE  TO  UNDERSTAND  THE  CONDITION  OF  THE  HERD. 

I  low  little  the  situation  was  understood  in  1889  by  the  officers  of  the  Government 
may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  in  that  year  the  agent  in  charge  of  the  islands 
recommended  that  the  quota  of  killable  seals  be  reduced  from  100,000  to  60,000,  when, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  hauling  grounds  were  only  capable  of  furnishing  20,000,  as 
the  year  1800  disclosed. 

Through  lack  of  experience  in  dealing  with  animals,  or  because  influenced  by  the 
crude  notions  of  the  natives,  the  agents  of  the  Government,  early  in  the  history  of  the 
herd,  established  the  tradition  that  the  seals  were  virtually  wild  animals,  which  must 
be  left  severely  alone  it  they  were  not  to  be  driven  away.  Accordingly,  they  instituted 
stringent  rules  against  the  visitation  and  molestation  of  the  breeding  grounds.  These 
rules  were  not  only  enforced  against  the  natives  and  casual  visitors,  but  for  the  most 
part  they  were  so  rigidly  adhered  to  by  the  agents  themselves  that  they  too  remained 
in  practical  ignorance  of  the  real  condition  of  the  herd. 

191 


192  THE   FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

THE  WILD-ANIMAL  POLICY. 

This  policy,  which  systematically  treated  the  fur  seals  as  wild  animals,  bore  fruit 
later  on,  when  the  theory  of  exclusive  ownership  in  the  seals  became  vital  to  the 
interests  of  the  Government.  This  theory,  being  wholly  incompatible  with  its 
management  of  the  herd,  was  legally  untenable.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  had  the 
United  States  looked  after  its  herd  with  the  care  and  attention  that  a  cattleman  on 
the  plains  would  bestow  on  his  stock,  the  theory  that  ownership  in  the  fur-seal  herd 
must  be  shared  with  the  pelagic  sealer  would  not  have  been  established.  Had  the 
United  States  in  1886,  instead  of  seizing  sealing  vessels  under  a  shadowy  right  of 
jurisdiction  over  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea,  branded  a  mark  of  ownership  upon  each 
female,  cleansed  the  rookeries  from  worm-breeding  sands,  and  then  seized  the  vessels 
that  destroyed  its  property,  it  is  probable  that  to-day  there  would  be  no  fur-seal 
question. 

LACK  OF  FAITH   IN  OUR  OWN  METHODS. 

But  so  little  attention  had  the  Government  paid  to  the  condition  of  its  herd  and 
the  results  of  its  own  methods  of  handling  the  animals,  that  it  was  possible  in  1891, 
for  those  interested  in  maintaining  pelagic  sealing,  to  set  up  the  counterclaim  that 
our  own  methods  were  responsible  for  the  depleted  condition  of  the  herd,  and  the 
Government  found  itself  unable  to  successfully  combat  the  charge.  Indeed,  it  would 
seem  that  it  was  not  itself  assured  of  its  own  innocence,  otherwise  the  useless 
repression  of  driving  in  1894  and  1895,  after  the  modus  vivendi,  is  without  explanation. 
In  these  years,  after  three  years  of  rest,  the  full  product  of  the  hauling  grounds  should 
have  been  taken.  Instead  of  this  we  find  that  the  taking  of  seals  was  limited  to  two 
drives  from  each  hauling  ground  in  the  season,  this  change  being  made  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  avoiding  injury  and  disturbance  to  the  rookeries. 

WASTEFUL  MANAGEMENT. 

We  must  again,  at  the  risk  of  repetition,  call  attention  to  the  financial  loss  which 
the  management  of  the  fur-seal  herd  in  the  first  twenty  years  of  our  control  involved. 
From  the  published  records  of  the  islands  we  find  that  no  less  than  154,000  animals, 
either  too  young  to  furnish  skins  or  whose  condition  was  such  that  the  skins  were 
not  available,  were  killed  and  tbeir  pelts  wasted.  Had  these  animals  been  killed  in 
the  proper  season  or  been  allowed  to  grow  to  the  proper  age,  the  revenue  in  tax  alone 
from  these  skins  would  have  been  $460,000. 

Why  this  waste  was  permitted  we  can  not  understand  unless  it  be  that  the 
matter  was  never  properly  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  Government.  It  seems 
certain  to  us  that  had  the  agents  in  charge  of  the  islands  ascertained  the  uselessness 
and  wastefulness  of  this  proceeding  it  would  never  have  been  allowed  to  continue. 
This  money  would  have  paid  five  times  over  for  competent  and  systematic 
investigation  of  the  herd  from  the  day  it  came  into  control  of  the  United  States  to 
the  present  time.  It  would  in  all  likelihood  have  averted  its  depletion  and  all  tbe 
expensive  litigation  and  friction  which  the  fur-seal  question  has  involved. 

THE   TWO   VITAL   MATTERS   YET  UNKNOWN. 

There  are  two  important  matters  which  the  Government  ought  to  understand  in 
order  to  handle  its  fur-seal  interests  intelligently,  and  these  two  vital  facts  it  has  not 


QUESTIONS    RELATING    TO    THE    QUOTA.  193 

yet  ascertained.  They  should  have  received  first  attention,  and  they  should  have  been 
determined  twenty  years  ago.  These  are:  First,  the  proportion  of  males  necessary  to 
attend  to  the  needs  of  the  breeding  female  herd;  second,  the  proportion  of  young 
seals  which  survive  to  the  age  of  3  years. 

Without  knowing  the  real  facts  in  regard  to  either  of  these  matters,  the  Govern- 
ment assumed  to  fix  a  definite  quota  and  to  maintain  it  through  twenty  years.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  we  know  from  the  history  of  the  herd  that  for  the  greater  part  of  this 
time  this  quota  was  too  small  and  that  a  large  additional  product  of  male  life  was 
wasted.  For  another  part  of  the  time  this  quota  was  too  great,  and  this  led  to  waste 
of  another  sort  by  involving  the  premature  killing  of  the  yearling  and  2-year-old 
bachelors.  Since  1894  the  Government,  acting  on  the  advice  of  its  agents,  who 
clearly  did  not  understand  the  situation,  has  each  year  assumed  to  fix  in  advance 
what  quota  should  be  taken. 

THE   FIXING   OF   THE   QUOTA. 

Let  us  take  as  a  concrete  example  the  quota  of  1897.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
number  was  left  indefinite  and  at  the  discretion  of  the  commission,  so  that  the  full 
product  of  the  hauling  grounds  was  taken  in  so  far  as  that  was  possible.  But  suppose 
the  quota  had  been  fixed  at  15,000.  In  that  case  the  loss  to  the  Government  in  tax 
under  its  lease  would  have  been  $65,000;  or  had  it  been  fixed  at  20,000,  the  loss 
would  still  have  been  $9,000.  One  or  the  other  of  these  figures  would  certainly  have 
been  chosen  had  the  advice  of  anyone  relying  on  such  data  as  were  available  in  1896 
been  taken.  The  quota  actually  taken  in  1897  was  20,890. 

So  long  as  mere  personal  judgment  is  trusted  in  these  matters  any  quota  that 
may  be  fixed  in  advance  must  be  a  very  conservative  one.  The  Government  must 
avoid,  on  the  one  hand,  the  too  close  killing  of  the  male  life.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  must  see  to  it,  at  least  in  the  present  depleted  condition  of  the  fur  seal  catch, 
whether  on  land  or  at  sea,  that  the  full  product  of  its  bachelor  herd  is  gathered  and 
utilized.  It  must  therefore  face  this  problem :  If  in  fixing  the  quota  the  figure  be 
placed  too  low,  say  1,000  below  the  number  of  skins  which  could  be  taken  with 
impunity,  the  Government  loses  $10,000  in  tax,  and  the  lessees  an  equal,  if  not  greater, 
amount.  If  the  margin  of  uncertainty  is  greater  or  less,  the  loss  is  proportionately 
increased  or  diminished.  It  would  manifestly  be  disastrous  were  the  limit  of  safety 
systematically  exceeded  by  a  like  number. 

QUESTIONS  WHICH  REQUIRE  CONTINUOUS  AND  EXPERT  STUDY. 

The  questions  involved  in  the  safe  and  intelligent  gathering  of  the  annual  quota 
are  of  such  a  nature  that  they  can  not  be  determined  in  a  single  season,  nor  in  two, 
possibly  not  definitely  in  five;  nor  can  the  matter  rest  when  they  are  once  determined. 
The  investigations  of  the  past  two  seasons  have,  however,  laid  the  foundation  for 
this  work.  If  the  census  of  the  breeding  herd,  begun  in  1896  and  improved  upon  in 
1897,  is  continued  for  two  or  three  seasons  it  can  be  made  practically  exact.  The 
birth  rate  of  the  present  season  is  accurately  enough  established.  If,  as  can  safely  be 
done,  the  full  product  of  the  hauling  grounds  is  taken  from  now  until  the  season  of 
1900,  it  can  then  be  determined  with  reasonable  accuracy,  from  the  quota  of  3-year-old 
males  of  that  year,  what  percentage  of  the  young  survive  to  killable  and  breeding  age. 
15184 13 


194  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

FIXED  QUOTA  NOT  DESIRABLE. 

With  this  fact  once  determined,  the  rate  of  the  herd's  increase  is  known,  and  also 
the  size  of  the  quota  that  can  safely  be  taken.  From  any  given  birth  rate,  then,  the 
quota  of  the  third  year  following  can  be  very  definitely  determined.  It  will  probably 
never  be  wise  to  again  fix  a  hard  and  fast  quota,  but  a  maximum  and  minimum  limit 
within  close  range  can  be  fixed,  and  this  should  serve  the  purposes  of  the  lessees  as 
well  as  of  the  Government. 

THE  PROPORTION  OF  MALES  NEEDED. 

The  second  problem  of  importance,  namely,  the  proportion  of  males  needed  on 
the  rookeries,  is  perhaps  more  easily  determined.  It  will,  however,  be  well  to  verify 
it  by  continued  observations  and  experiments.  The  investigations  of  the  past  two 
seasons  show  clearly  that  with  the  present  breeding  herd  of  130,000  cows  4,500  adult 
bulls  is  a  number  entirely  adequate,  even  though  twice  that  number  are  ready  and 
willing  to  do  service.  But  the  mere  fact  that  the  rookeries  are  so  evidently 
overstocked  with  bulls  makes  it  desirable  that  this  subject  should  be  further  studied 
before  final  judgment  is  taken. 

The  importance  of  the  second  problem,  however,  does  not  lie  in  its  solution,  but  in 
its  practical  application.  Knowing  the  proportion  of  males  necessary  for  breeding 
purposes  and  the  proportion  of  males  which  survive  to  killable  age,  the  practical 
question  is,  how  to  see  that  the  necessary  reserve  is  set  aside  each  year  to  replenish 
the  breeding  stock  as  it  deteriorates  through  old  age  and  other  causes. 

MINOR  PROBLEMS. 

We  have  mentioned  these  two  important  problems  which  directly  concern  the 
taking  of  the  product  of  the  herd.  They  are  absolutely  essential.  There  are  other 
questions  of  a  minor  nature,  such  as  the  more  definite  determination  of  the  movements 
of  the  seals,  and  their  ages.  There  is  also  an  important  work  to  be  done  in  the 
improvement  of  the  breeding  grounds,  their  extension,  their  drainage,  and  the  purging 
of  places  infested  with  the  parasitic  worm. 

THE  HERD  SHOULD  BE  PLACED  IN  CHARGE  OF  A  NATURALIST. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  into  greater  detail.  We  have  probably  said  enough  to 
make  clear  the  wisdom  of  the  one  important  recommendation  which  the  present 
commission  strongly  urges  upon  the  Government  at  this  time.  This  is  the  placing  of 
its  fur-seal  herd  permanently  in  charge  of  a  competent  naturalist  and  practical  man 
of  affairs,  whose  business  it  shall  be  to  visit  the  islands  each  year  in  the  breeding 
season  and  to  study  the  condition  of  the  herd  and  ways  for  its  improvement;  to 
determine  the  size  of  the  quota  which  shall  be  taken,  and  supervise  its  taking;  in 
short,  to  make  the  needs,  possibilities,  and  limitations  of  the  fur-seal  herd  his  life 
study.  By  such  a  course  the  Government  can  hope  to  have  at  hand  at  all  times  that 
expert  advice  and  assistance  that  have  been  so  signally  lacking  in  the  past  and 
which  are  so  essential  to  the  proper  administration  of  its  future  interests. 

This  superintendent  of  the  herd  should  not  take  the  place  of  the  present  agents, 
but  should  be  an  additional  officer,  and  his  duties  should  lie  wholly  with  the  herd. 
The  agents,  as  at  present  appointed,  should  continue  to  deal  Avith  the  natives  and 


A    SUPERINTENDENT    OF    THE    HERD.  195 

with  the  lessees.  Their  only  connection  with  the  herd  should  be  as  executive  officers 
to  carry  out  the  suggestions  and  plans  of  the  superintendent. 

We  have  gone  into  detail  in  this  matter  simply  for  the  purpose  of  emphasizing  its 
importance.  What  such  a  man  should  or  should  not  do  must  be  left  to  his  judgment, 
the  fact  of  his  competency  being  assured.  His  study  and  ingenuity  will  undoubtedly 
show  other  or  more  important  ways  in  which  he  might  serve  the  interests  of  the 
Government. 

Under  proper  protection  the  fur-seal  herd  may  be  expected  to  become  again  in 
time  a  valuable  interest  of  the  Government.  Its  condition  to-day,  as  a  result  of  the 
investigations  of  1896  and  1897,  is  very  thoroughly  known.  With  this  knowledge  as 
a  foundation,  and  assisted  by  the  excellent  survey,  which  has  just  been  completed,  of 
the  breeding  grounds,  it  should  be  possible  henceforth  for  the  Government  to  be  at 
all  times  possessed  of  complete  and  accurate  knowledge  as  to  the  condition  of  the 
fur-seal  herd.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  proper  steps  will  be  taken  to  insure  this 
result. 


APPENDIX   I. 


STATISTICS  PERTINENT  TO  THE  PRECEDING  DISCUSSION. 

TABLE  OF  DAILY  KILLINGS   OF  FUR  SEALS  FOR  ALL  PURPOSES   ON  THE  PRIBILOF 
ISLANDS  FOR  THE  YEARS  1875,1880,  1886,  AND  1889  TO  1897,  INCLUSIVE. 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

The  complete  table  of  daily  killings  for  the  period  1870  to  1889,  prepared  by  Col. 
Joseph  Murray,  having-  been  published  in  Senate  Doc.  No.  137,  Seal  Life,  Part  1, 1890, 
and  recently  republished  in  "  Seal  and  Salmon  Fisheries  and  General  Resources  of 
Alaska,"  House  Doc.  No.  92,  1898,  it  has  not  seemed  necessary  to  repeat  it  in  full  here. 
From  this  table  we  have  taken  the  record  for  the  years  1875, 1880,  1886,  and  1889. 
The  first  of  these  years  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  normal  driving  in  the  period  of 
equilibrium  during  the  years  1871  to  1880.  The  record  of  the  year  1880  is  given  to 
show  that  no  radical  change  had  yet  occurred.  With  it  is  contrasted  the  record  of 
1886,  when,  the  killable  seals  became  scarce  through  the  decline  of  the  breeding  herd, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  multiply  the  drives  and  hauling  grounds  driven  from  to 
secure  the  necessary  quota  of  skins.  The  record  of  1889  is  introduced  to  form  a 
contrast  to  that  of  1890.  The  driving  in  neither  year  shows  normal  conditions.  The 
record  for  1890  and  following  is  a  continuation  of  Colonel  Murray's  set  of  tables, 
taken  from  the  official  records  of  the  islands.  In  the  names  of  the  rookeries  we  have 
used  the  spelling  adopted  in  the  present  report. 

NT.   PAUL    ISLAND,    is?.-, 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1875. 
Jan.     1' 
Feb.    10 
16 
17 
May     7 
10 
14 
18 
24 
31 

Northeast  Point  

25 
6 
9 
16 
498 
9 
20 
143 
657 
492 

1875. 
June    lz 

1 
5 
7 
7 
7 
10 

12 

English  Bay  and  Southwest 
Bay  
Tolstoi                    

1,201 
203 
692 
711 
1,560 
27 

1,456 
631 

do 

..do 

do                 

Zoltoi  and  Tolstoi  

Zoltoi  and  Reef  

Southwest  Bay  

do  

Northeast  Point  

Reef          .          

English     Bay,     Southwest 

do 

do  

Reef  and  Zoltoi  

1  Seals  taken  in  this  and  subsequent  years  prior  to  June  1,  when  the  regular  sealing  season  began,  were  for  natives' 
food.     Such  of  the  skins  as  were  of  suitable  grade  were  accepted  and  became  a  part  of  the  regular  quota. 

2  Where,  as  in  this  initial  drive  of  the  season,  two  or  more  names  are  joined,  it  means  that  adjacent  or  convenient 
hauling  grounds  were  united  in  a  single  drive.    Thus  Zoltoi  is  always  driven  with  Reef,  because  the  route  of  the  longer 
drive  crosses  Zoltoi   hauling  ground.    In  like   manner  Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  and  English  Bay  are  so  situated  as  to  be 
conveniently  driven  together. 

197 


198 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PEIBILOF    ISLANDS. 
ST.  PAUL.  ISLAND,  1875-Continued. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1875. 
June  12 

4  065 

1875. 
July     14 

14 

Tolstoi  and  English  Bay  

739 

15 

Lukanin  and  Kitovi  

748 

16 

2,115 

16 

2  700 

16 

Tolstoi  and  Reef  

707 

16 

Zoltoi 

1  205 

17 

Lukanin       

452 

17 

?'  439 

18 

Southwest  Bay,  English  Bay 

3,303 

22' 

Zoltoi  

557 

19 

1,363 

28 

do  

159 

19 

N  ortheast  Point  

5  252 

do 

235 

22 

Tolstoi  

1,830 

14 

Kitovi 

192 

22 

Zoltoi  

1,  150 

21 

Zoltoi 

159 

24 

English  Bay  

3,009 

Sept       2 

do 

210 

25 

Lukanin  

262 

12 

.  do      

143 

26 

Northeast  Point  

7,349 

21 

do 

146 

26 

Southwest  Bay  

4,047 

30 

do 

153 

28 

Reef  

1,527 

Oct.      12 

.  do 

115 

30 

Zoltoi  and  English  Bay  

3,  927 

Nov.      5 

do  

172 

July     2 

Lukanin,  Kitovi,  Zoltoi  

2,534 

17 

Tolstoi  

1,990 

3 

Northeast  Point  

5,024 

29 

24 

0 

Zoltoi  and  Lukanin  

1,248 

Pups  killed  for  food  * 

3  745 

8 

English  Bay  

3,370 

Dec.       2 

15 

9 

Tolstoi  and  English  Bay  

2,093 

4 

Tolstoi  

694 

10 

1  125 

10 

Northeast  Point  

5,937 

Total    

94  960 

13 

Zoltoi  

1,565 

ST.  GEORGE  ISLAND,  1875. 


1875. 

Stara  va  Artel  

302 

1875. 
June    30 

1  412 

o 

do              ... 

256 

July      5 

East  

717 

11 

East  

177 

7 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  .... 

1,019 

14 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  .... 

307 

12 

East  

1,073 

16 

East  

358 

14 

North  

676 

18 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  . 

334 

17 

do  

177 

19 

Southwest  Bay    

1,294 

Killed  for  food  

1,500 

23 

East 

666 

24 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  .... 

540 

Total  

3  11,  500 

28 

East  

692 

1  The  killings  subsequent  to  July  17,  at  which  time  the  quota  of  the  season  was  filled,  were  for  natives'  food,  and,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Killings  before  the  regular  season  began,  the  skins  so  taken  when  suitable  were  included  in  the  quota  of 
the  following  year. 

2  Prior  to  the  year  1891  it  was  customary  each  fall  to  allow  the  killing.of  a  certain  number  of  young  male  pups  by 
the  natives  for  food.    Before  leaving  the  islands  in  the  fall  the  pups  become  very  fat,  and  as  their  diet  is  exclusively  milk 
up  to  that  time,  the  meat  was  dearly  prized  by  the  natives.    The  method  employed  iu  taking  these  pups  was  to  drive  them 
up  from  a  given  rookery,  sort  out  the  males  and  drive  them  to  the  killing  grounds  for  slaughter.     Their  skins  were  of  no 
value.    The  wasteful  practice  was  discontinued  after  1890.    For  details  regarding  this  matter,  reference  may  be  made  to 
extracts  from  the  log  of  St.  Paul,  Part  II,  under  date  of  November  in  any  season. 

3St.  George  had  furnished  27,000  male  seals  up  to  the  close  of  1873,  when  the  quota  was  arbitrarily  reduced  to  10,000. 
The  driving  of  this  year  was  adapted  to  the  reduced  quota.  In  1887  the  quota  of  St.  George  was  raised  to  15,000,  and  the 
driving  increased  accordingly. 


DAILY    KILLINGS. 
ST.  HAITI,    1*1.  t  >  l>.    I88O. 


199 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 

males 
killed. 

Bate. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1880. 
Mav  14' 

209 

1880. 
July      5 

1  .11  kan  i  n  and  Kitovi  

651 

22 

Reef                                

225 

6 

Tolstoi  

1,  .'  77 

23 

19 

7 

Tolstoi  and  Lukaiiiii  

1,654 

Reef                             

216 

8 

Zoltoi,  Reef,  Lukanin,  Ki- 

8 

1,497 

tovi  

2,221 

9 

Reef                                

926 

9 

Tolstoi,    Lukauin,    Middle 

11 

889 

Hill 

1  428 

12 

Southwest      and     English 

763 

10 
5-10 

Zoltoi,  Kitovi,  Lukanin  

1,221 
7  073 

14 

ITalf\vav  Point  

1,204 

12 

Zoltoi,  Kitovi,  Lukanin  

817 

15 

KIT'  and  Zoltoi 

765 

13 

1  763 

16 

17 

Zavadni  and  English  Bay... 

990 
18 

14 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukaniu,  Ki- 

2  640 

18 

Tolstoi  and  English  Bay 

1,619 

15 

Enorlish  Bay 

1  834 

19 

English   Hay    and    Middle 
Hill                

802 

16 

17 

Middle  Hill  and  Lukaniu.  .  . 
Zoltoi  

2,461 
534 

14, 

Northeast  Point  

5,  279 

28 

Northeast  Point  

43 

19J 
21 

Halfway  Point  

1,459 

30 
31 

Halfway  Point  
Zoltoi  

228 
218 

22 

Kitovi,  Zoltoi,  Reef  

1,035 

Aug.    11 

do  

253 

23 

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  

1,702 

19 

do  

160 

24 

Reef  Zoltoi   Kitovi 

1,  437 

28 

do 

189 

25 

English   Bay    and   Middle 

Sept.      8 

do  ... 

195 

Hill 

2,582 

18 

do 

239 

20 

Kitovi  Zoltoi  Reef    

1,062 

30 

do 

227 

211 

Oct.      12 

Lukanin  

260 

20/ 

25 

English  Bay  

193 

28 

Halfway  Point  

1.516 

Nov.       2\ 

29 
30 

Kitovi,  1  ,11  ka  i!  in.  Zoltoi  
Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  

1,743 
2,297 

3,  5,  6/ 
Deo.       6 

Reef  

1  17fi 

July     1 

do  

1  622 

9 

13 

9 

English    Bay   and   Middle 

24 

Northeast  Point  

82 

ifill          /  

2  374 

Nov     11 

Middle  Hill 

270 

3 

1  386 

29 

270 

3 

7  167 

5 

Halfway  Point  

789 

Total 

84  779 

ST.  «.  i  oi:«.  i     i«i,  t  >  i»     I88O. 


1880. 
Mav   18 

North  

14 

1880. 

East  

1  483 

26 

Staray  a  Artel  

23 

1  814 

June    3 

North  

82 

9 

East  

949 

9 

East     

338 

12 

North  and  Staray  a  Artel.  .  .  . 

564 

the  drives  3  

28 

14 

East.     ...„  

352 

16 

72 

15 

Southwest  Bay2  

738 

17 

7 

17 

do  

254 

20 

do 

g 

17 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  

559 

28 

North  

60 

19 

East  

599  i 

Aue.      6 

do 

51 

19 

Southwest  Bay  

223 

11 

North  and  East 

226 

21 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  

1,183 

Sept.     1 

North  

40 

22 

Southwest  Bay  

518  i 

2 

35 

23 

East  

814  : 

27 

North  

47 

25 

Southwest  Bay  

839 

Oct.       5 

do  . 

62 

25 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  

1,322 

28 

do  ... 

501 

28 

East  

1,770 

Nov.      I 

do 

765 

29 

Southwest  Bay  

846 

9 

30 

30 

Staraya  Artel  

808 

18 

do                     ... 

10 

July     1 

North  

392 

Dec.       1 

East 

65 

U^ 

East  

956 

3 

16 

Southwest  Bay  

961 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  

515 

Total  

20,  939 

1  The  hauling  ground  here  as  elsewhere  designated  as  Southwest  Bay,  is  identical  with  Zapadni  in  later  vears.    In 
like  manner  Halfway  Point  and  the  later  name  Polovina  are  synonymous.    In  each  case  one  name  is  Russian  and  the  other 
the  English  equivalent. 

2  Southwest  Bay  and  Zapadni  are  the  same  rookery. 

3  A  lecord  was  kept  of  the  animals  which  were  overcome  by  exhaustion,  or  accident,  and  had  to  be  killed  and  skinned 
on  the  drive.    For  this  season,  involving  the  handling  of  20,000  seals  killed,  to  say  nothing  of  those  driven  and  rejected, 
the  number  lost  seems  to  have  been  28. 


200 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


ST.    I'AI  I.    l-l    \  M»     1886. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Total 
Rookery  .                       males 
killed. 

1886. 
Jan.    21 
29 
Mav     5 
8 
17 
10-17 
29 
June    42 
8 

9 
10 
11 
14 
14 
15 
15 
16 

16 
17 
17 
18 
18 
19 

19 
21 
21 
22 
22 
23 
23 
24 
24 
25 

25 
26 
28 
28 
29 
29 
30 
30 
July     1 

2 
2 
3 
5 
5 
6 
6 
7 
7 
8 
8 

Sea  Lion  (Sivutcb)  Rock  '  .  . 
Southwest  Bay  

84 
49 
7 
5 
300 
49 
153 
562 

1,323 
299 
634 
214 
427 
1,343 
1,166 
1,116 

850 
585 
833 
761 
651 
376 

1,064 
371 
1,891 
1,161 
1,007 
659 
1,770 
955 
1,555 
498 

2,158 
581 
441 
1,070 
926 
1,503 
794 
490 
1,056 
1,319 
1.202 
856 
566 
1,263 
1,163 
1,180 
942 
866 
1,969 
1,187 
1,466 
952 

1886. 
July      9 

9 

10 

12 

12 
13 

14 

14 
15 

15 
16 
16 
17 

17 
19 
19 
20 

20 
21 
21 
22 

22 
23 

23 
24 

24 
26 

Aug.      3 
9 
19 
30 
Sept.      6 
17 
29 
Oct.      11 
28 
Nov.      5 
6 
8 
10 
22 
23 
Dec.       1 
21 

English  Bay,  Middle    Hill, 
Tolstoi 

1,563 
636 

1,133 
1,044 
1,501 

1,442 

1,074 
602 

1,957 
899 
937 
1,  013 

2,057 
407 
2,312 
753 

3,140 
801 
1,476 
312 

2,015 
923 

3,147 
739 

1,625 
658 

1,993 
75 
152 
134 
96 
148 
146 
148 
144 
152 
768 
445 
900 
711 
379 
289 
380 
191 

Northeast  Point  

do  

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Kitovi,  Luka- 

Southwest  Bay  and  Reef  
Northeast  Point  

Halfway  Point 

Reef 

do  

Southwest  Bay  and  South- 
west Point  . 

Tolstoi,  English  Bay,  South- 

English    Bay    and    Middle 
Hill 

En<rlish  Bav 

Zoltoi,  Reef,  Kitovi,  Luka- 
nin   

Lukanin,  Reef  

Southwest  Bay  

Halfway  Point        

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 
Tolstoi 

Southwest  Bay  and  South- 

Reef  and  Zoltoi 

Northeast  Point  

Northeast  Point  

Reef  and  Zoltoi 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 
Tolstoi 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 
Tolstoi 

Southwest  Bay  and  South- 

English  Bay  and  Tolstoi  

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukanin,  Ki- 

Zoltoi        .       .          .        .   .. 

English   Bay   and   Middle 
Hill                 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  English  Bay, 
Middle  Hill  Tolstoi  

Halfway  Point,  Southwest 
Bay.  Lukanin,  and  Zoltoi  . 
Zoltoi  

.do                  

do  

do  

English  Bay,  Tolstoi,  Zoltoi. 

..do  

do 

do           

Reef          ... 

English  Bay  and  Tolstoi  

do                            .          . 

do             .... 

do                            

Reef 

English  Bay  and  Tolstoi  

do  

Reef        

Tolstoi  

Total  

88,  085 

Northeast  Point  

1  The  killings  on  Sivutch  Rock  occur  only  at  intervals  in  the  winter  or  early  spring  when  no  seals  are  left  on  St.  Paul. 
The  natives  go  to  the  island  in  boats,  killing  the  seals  and  bringing  the  carcasses  home  for  food.     No  seals  are  killed  on  the 
rock  in  the  breeding  season. 

2  The  relative  number  of  drives  between  June  4  and  July  26  in  this  year  should  be  noted  in  contrast  to  the  number 
required  in  1880  between  June  1  and  July  17.    The  extension  of*  the  season  of  driving  ten  days  is  also  significant. 


DAILY    KILLINGS. 


201 


ST.  <- 1  <UC<- 1      1*1.  t  >  i».  1SS6. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1886. 
May  18 

East   

i 
39 

1886. 
July    14 

East     

888 

28 

North  

102 

15 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  

712 

June    8 

4 

19 

Zapadni  

01)3 

14 

81 

21 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  

85o 

10 

Staraya  Artel,  North,  East., 

1,430 

22 

East  

527 

14 

Zapadni  

779 

23 

East  and  North  

295 

17 

Stara\a  Artel,  North,  East.  . 

1,438 

Au".      2 

Near  (North)  

14 

21 

Zapadni  

843 

2 

do  

11 

22 

Starava  A  rtel  and  North  .... 

742 

9 

East  

66 

23 

East  

343 

17 

North  

42 

24 

Zapadni  

306 

23 

East  

70 

28 

do  

288 

Sept.      6 

North  

76 

29 

Staraya  A  rtel  and  North  

632 

Oct.      26 

do  

759 

Julv     1 

East 

482 

28 

East 

24 

5 

Zapadni  

620 

Nov.      8 

North  

527 

6 

Starava  Artel  and  North  

503  ' 

13 

East  

3 

7 

East              .... 

650 

12 

10 

867 

12 

745 

Total    

16  436 

ST.  PAUL    INI.  \  M».  1889. 


1889. 
May  22 

Sea  Lion  fSivutch)  Rock  .  . 

124 

1889. 
July     13 

1  006 

25 

Reef                    

41 

13 

793 

28 

.   .  do  .          

234 

15 

English  Bay  and  Middle  Hill 

3  085 

31 

133 

15 

1  838 

Reef  

201 

16 

1  911 

10 

do  

120 

16 

Northeast  Point 

1  156 

12 

Tolstoi  

947 

17 

Halfwav  Point  and  Lukanin 

1  931 

14 

Zoltoi  and  Reef  

762 

17 

Northeast  Point 

948 

15 

Southwest  Bay  

340 

18 

Lagoon,  English  Bay   Mid- 

17 

Halfwav  Point  

895 

dle  Hill        . 

2  046 

17 

Northeast  Point  

1,054 

18 

Northeast  Point  . 

1  282 

18 

English  Bay,  Tolstoi,  Mid- 

19 

2  017 

dle  Hill                        ..     . 

1,161 

19 

834 

18 

Northeast  Point  

1,270 

20 

Reef  and  Zoltoi 

1  913 

19 

...  do                     

494 

20 

243 

19 
20 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukanin  
Southwest  I?av  

1,561 
253 

22 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 
Lukauiu  

1  943 

21 

Northeast  Point  

1,205 

22 

Northeast  Point  

350 

22 

English  Bav,  Tolstoi,  Mid- 

23 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Kitovi 

1,  122 

dle  Hill..'  

1,355 

23 

740 

24 

Northeast  Point  

754 

24 

1  384 

24 

Reef  and  Zoltoi  

2,578 

24 

616 

25 

25 

Halfway  Point  and  Lukanin  . 
Northeast  Point  

979 
1,407 

25 

25 

English  Bay  and  Middle  Hill  . 
Northeast  Point 

1,756 
1 

26 

EnglishBayandMiddleHill. 

1,314 

26 

South  west  Bay  

680 

26 

Northeast  Point  

441 

26 

1  483 

27 

Southwest  Bay  

311 

27 

1  105 

27 

844 

29 

English  Bayand  MiddleHill 

1  64!l 

28 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Kitovi  

1,349 

29 

Northeast  Point 

1  624 

2* 

Northeast  Point  

479 

30 

Halfway  Point 

973 

29 

...do 

335 

30 

615 

29 

English  Bay  and  Tolstoi  

1,038 

31 

Northeast  Point 

538 

Julv     1 

Northeast  Point  

1,200 

31 

Zoltoi  

160 

1 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukanin  

1,023 

Aug.      6 

Lukaniu  

163 

2 

Halfway  Point..  .     . 

834 

14 

Zoltoi 

131 

2 

968 

22 

do 

141 

3 

English  Bay,  Tolstoi,  Mid- 

31 

Tolstoi  

179 

dle  Hill  

1  841 

Sept.      9 

Zoltoi 

141 

4 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukanin  

1,706 

18 

..  do 

no 

4 

Northeast  Point  

1,559 

25 

do 

107 

5 

Southwest  Bay  

I  255 

Oct.        5 

do  .   . 

120 

5 

Northeast  Point  

1,524 

15 

...    do  

103 

6 

English  Bay,  Tolstoi,  Mid- 

26 

Lukanin  

132 

dle  Hill  

1,302 

Nov.      4 

Zoltoi  

1  169 

6 

Northeast  Point  

376 

19 

Tolstoi  .         ... 

1  460 

8 

Reef,  Zoltoi,  Lukanin  

814 

21 

Reef 

347 

8 

Northeast  Point  

914 

27 

do 

192 

g 

English  Bav  and  Tolstoi  

1,314 

27 

Zapadni  

10 

9 

Northeast  Point  

641 

30 

Reef 

240 

10 

Halfway  Point  

654 

Dec.     11 

243 

10 

800 

12 

Reef  and  Zoltoi  

2,004 

Total 

87  394 

1  The,  driving  in  this  season  was  not  essentially  different  from  that  in  1880,  except  that  it  was  continued  until  the  31st 
of  July.  That  what  was  difficult  in  1886  had  not  become  an  impossihility  in  1889  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  the  latter 
year  the  size  of  skins  to  he  taken  was  lowered,  so  that  the  younger  bachelors  down  to  the  yearlings  were  taken.  Even  this 
resource  failed  in  1890. 


202 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF   THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


ST.  GEORGE    ISLAND,   1889. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1 
Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1889. 
May  22 

60 

1889. 
July     22 

500 

June    4 

East  

156 

23 

628 

10 

Xii  1  >ii  i  In  i  

207 

24 

279 

17 

do  

244 

25 

1  430 

18 

Staraya  Artel,  North,  East.  . 

773 

27 

do  ' 

942 

21 

East  

176 

28 

568 

22 
24 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  
Xapadni  

284 
596 

29 
Aug     10 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel.  . 
North 

515 
55 

25 

East  and  North  

496 

1     19 

do 

5(i 

27 

Zapadui  

223 

30 

do 

48 

29 

Stara  va  Artel  and  East  

429 

Sept.      7 

East   

64 

July     1 

Zapadni  

167 

21 

do 

50 

2 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel.  . 

275 

30 

North  

33 

5 

do  

418 

Oct.     11 

do 

37 

8 

Zapadni  

229 

21 

32 

10 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel.  . 

270 

31 

North  

4 

12 

Xapadni  

192 

Nov.      6 

do 

606 

11 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel.. 

667 

12 

do  

477 

15 

/apadni  

371  i 

25 

61 

16 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel 

1  028 

18 

Zapadni  

439 

Total 

]5  ->95 

19 

North,  East,  Staraya  Artel.  . 

1,140 

ST.  PAUL.  ISLAND,  189O. 


1890.1 
Jan.   27 

Sea  Lion  (Sivutch)  Rock  

175 

1890. 
July      9 

163 

May  21 

...    do  

131 

9 

271 

28 

Southwest  Bay  

119 

10 

Reef  

378 

J  une    6 

Reef  

116 

10 

112 

11 

do  

574 

12 

English  Bay   Middle  Hill 

13 

Tolstoi  

182 

633 

16 

Reef  

317 

13 

Half  way  Point  

211 

17 

Northeast  Point  . 

16 

13 

658 

17 

Halfway  Point 

167 

14 

Reef 

104 

18 
18 

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  
Northeast  Point  .  . 

274 
78 

15 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 

315 

20 

Reef  and  Lukanin  

339 

15 

Northeast  Point  ,. 

245 

20 

Northeast  Point  

438 

16 

do 

312 

21 

Southwest  Bay  

292 

17 

372 

21 

Northeast  Point  ... 

96 

17 

485 

23 

English  Bay  and  Lukanin.  . 

521 

18 

do  

405 

23 

Northeast  Point  

179 

18 

Zapadni  

1!:!6 

24 

Reef  and  Zoltol  

426 

19 

556 

24 

Northeast  Point  

205 

19 

446 

25 

Halfway  Point  

266 

2  20 

English  Bay  Middle  Hill 

25 

Northeast  Point  

166 

26 

Southwest  Bay    ... 

117 

Point  . 

780 

27 

English  Bay  andMiddle  Hill  . 

396 

20 

Northeast  Point  

556 

27 

Northeast  Point  

230 

28 

129 

28 

Reef  

206 

Aue.      5 

Reef     .  . 

123 

28 

Northeast  Point  

73 

14 

124 

30 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  Eng- 

23 

Reef  

155 

lish  Bay,  Kitovi  

209 

30 

do 

110 

30 

Northeast  Point  

98 

Sept.      6 

Lukanin 

83 

July     1 

Reef  

246 

13 

do  ... 

93 

1 

Northeast  Point  

131 

22 

...    do  

110 

2 

Halfway  Point  

242 

29 

Middle  Hill 

109 

2 

Northeast  Point  

96 

Oct.        4 

109 

3 

Southwest  Bay  

183 

14 

Middle  Hill 

114 

3 

Northeast  Point  

180 

22 

do 

95 

4 

Tolstoi,  English  Bay,  Mid- 

29 

do  

134     i 

dle  Hill  

494 

Nov.      4 

515     ! 

4 

Northeast  Point  

321 

6 

Reef 

989     ' 

5 

Reef  

526 

10 

do 

536 

5 

Northeast  Point  

74 

12 

do  . 

324 

7 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 

14 

Middle  Hill  

255 

Tolstoi,  Lukauin,  Kitovi.. 

411 

Dec.       4 

Reef  

283 

7 

336 

8 

Halfway  Point     

261 

Total  

21  920 

8 

Northeast  Point  

379 

'The  contrast  here  visible  between  1889  and  1890  is  by  no  means  a  measure  of  corresponding  decrease  in  the  breeding 
herd.  The  fact  is  that  the  fictitious  quota  of  1889  was  made  up  largely  of  yearlings  which  belonged  properly  to  the  quota 
of  1891.  In  like  manner  the  quota  of  1889  and  the  preceding  year  had  'largely  absorbed  the  legitimate  quota  of  1890.  It  is 
probable  that  had  the  quota  been  reduced  in  proportion  to  the  decreasing  birth  rate,  and  been  confined  to  the  regular  ages 
of  animals,  the  normal  quota  of  1889  and  1890  would  have  been  between  50.000  and  60,000. 

2  In  this  year  driving  for  the  season  was  closed  on  July  20  by  order  of  the  Government  agent,  it  being  evident  that 
the  full  quota  of  60,000  skins  could  not  be  secured,  or  in  fact  any  considerable  number  in  addition  to  those  taken  prior  to 
that  date. 


DAILY    KILLINGS. 
-I     GEORGE   ISLAND,  1S9O. 


203 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1890. 
May   13 

North  .. 

32 

1890. 

East  

132 

23 

.  .    do  

37 

16 

119 

31 

Zapadni      .  .        

109 

18 

East 

71 

June    ' 

Noi  th  

71 

20 

641 

16 

East  

218 

20 

527 

18 

North  

118 

Aii'T       1 

North 

97 

19 

East  ami  Little  East  

181 

lit 

do 

52 

20 

Zapadui  

394 

14 

do         .... 

42 

23 

Starava  Artel  and  North  

164 

21 

do              

.     55 

25 

East  and  Little  East 

184 

30 

do 

88 

28 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  

189 

Sept.      9 

do  

18 

30 

Zapadni  

189 

24 

do  

38 

July     1 

East  and  Little  East 

149 

Oct.      16 

do 

32 

7     3 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  .  .  . 

238 

22 

do  

42 

5 

East  and  Little  East 

57 

30 

do 

59 

7 

Zapadni  

58 

Nov.      5 

do 

579 

8 

East  and  Little  East 

24 

7 

do 

525 

9 

Starava  Artel  and  North  .   . 

193 

Dec.       4 

79 

11 

East  

60 

4 

do  . 

147 

12 

103 

14 

Zapadui  

53 

Total  

6,  139 

ST.  PAUL.  ISLAND,  1891. » 


ST.    GEORGE    ISLAND,    1891. 


1891. 

Reef  

233 

1891. 
July     15 

122 

29 

do  

114 

21 

Middle  Hill 

178 

June    4 

Zapadni  

463 

27 

do 

248 

11 

Zapadni  aud  Reef  

718 

Aug       3 

Reef 

118 

11 

Northeast  Point  

1,  112 

5 

407 

12 

498 

10 

100 

13 

Northeast  Point  

430 

Nov.      2 

Middle  Hill 

31 

13 

Middle  Hill  

232 

A 

Zoltoi. 

37 

15 

N  ortheast  Point  

866 

14 

Middle  Hill 

142 

16 

Reef  

842 

19 

do 

188 

17 

186 

21 

2 

18 

Hi-of          

1,027 

24 

Middle  Hill 

133 

20 

Middle  Hill  

119 

25 

Reef 

102 

25 

Reef  

215 

29 

do 

162 

29 

do  

400 

Dec.       5 

3 

Julv     8 

do  

100 

'    13 

do  

121 

Total  . 

9  579 

1891. 
May   12     North  

17 

1891. 
July     24 

North  

72 

22     East.          

23 

25 

East,  and  Little  East 

181 

29     North      

85 

Aug.      1 

North,  and  Zapadni 

26 

•lime    9     North,  East  Starava  Artel.. 

442 

6 

...  do  

15 

10     Zapadni  

274 

13 

East  

83 

15     Staraya  Artel  

101 

17 

do  

55 

17     Zapadui  

235 

Sept.    24 

Ntrth  

36 

19     East  

48 

Oct.      23 

do  

104 

29     North             

25 

28 

25 

30     East            

153 

Nov.    18 

2 

Julv     1     Starava  Artel          .   . 

105 

23 

North 

71 

3     Nortti  ... 

30 

For  watchmen's  food 

26 

6     East 

1J9 

16     North  

54 

Total  

2  461 

20     East  

54 

1  The  years  1891-93  cover  the  period  of  the  modus  vivendi  during  which  land  killing  was  limited  to  the  nominal  figure 
of  7,500  seals  a  year  to  supply  food  for  the  Aleuts.  The  excess  over  this  figure  in  1891  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  skins 
taken  prior  to  the  date  of  the  agreement,  June  15,  were  not  included  in  the  limited  quota  allowed,  this  being  held  by  the 
agents  to  begin  on  the  date  of  the  agreement.  As  a  result  of  this  unnecessary  restriction  of  land  killing  the  rookeries  are 
now  grossly  overstocked  with  bulls. 


204 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 
.XT.  PAUIj   1*1.  t  >  It. 


Date. 

Total 
Kookery.                         males 
killed. 

Date. 

Kookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1892. 
Mnv   19 
24 
30 
June  10 
18 
25 
July     1 
8 
35 
25 
Aug.     1 
4 
8 
9 

Reef  

83 
155 
126 
132 
119 
497 
469 
450 
534 
274 
403 
354 
293 
320 

1892. 
Aug       9 
Nov.     11 
12 
19 
22 
22 
26 
28 
Dec.       5 
16 

16 

16 
111 
151 
143 
56 
12 
10 
158 
113 

25 
5 

do  

Reef 

do  

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill  
Middle  Hill 

Zoltoi  

Reef  

Reef 

Middle  Hill  and  Lukanin.  .  . 
Reef  

Zapadni  

Middle  Hill  

Zoltoi  

Reef 

Zapadni      and     Northeast 
Point  . 

Lukauin  and  Zoltoi  

Middle  Hill  

Road  skins            

Total  

Middle  'Hill  

5,009 

ST.  OEOROE    1*1, AMt. 


1892. 
May   14 

Zapadni  

17 

1892. 
Oct.      25 

21 

20 

North  

36 

26 

June    2 

do  

103 

Artel 

30 

East  

111 

28 

North      

50 

15 

Staraya  Artel  

149 

Nov.      1 

15 

22 

East  and  Little  East  

318 

2 

East        .     . 

53 

30 

Staraya  Artel  

189 

3 

54 

July     7 

East  

190 

9 

North 

11 

14 

Staraya  Artel  and  North  . 

310 

11 

East 

54 

21 

East,  North,  near,  and  Sta- 
raya Artel  

483 

Food  for  watchmen  for  sea- 

30 

Ail?.    2 

Nor  i  h 

103 

g  10 

North  and  East  

124 

Total  

2,502 

Oct.    20 

North,   East,   and  Staraya 
Artel  

51 

ST.   l»*l   I, 


,  \Mt.  1893. 


1893. 
May  19 

Reef... 

192 

1893. 
July     21 

Lukanin  and  Zoltoi  

1,044 

June    1 

do  

147 

27 

Euo-lish  Bay  

88 

By  watchmen  

14 

Aug.      2 

Gorbatch  and  Lukanin     .... 

252 

9 

Reef  

395 

g       5 

Halfway  Point  

255 

16 

Tolstoi  

471 

7 

Zoltoi  ..'  

43 

26 

Zoltoi  

736 

Nov.       2 

do  

69 

26 

Northeast  Point  

1 

7 

Middle  Hill  

82 

July    6 

Beef  

489 

14 

Reef  

173 

6 

Northeast  Point  

4 

22 

do  

208 

10 

Lukanin  

171 

27 

Tolstoi  

188 

10 

Northeast  Point  and  South- 

3 

30 

For  watchmen  to  date  

67 

14 

Middle  Hill  

215 

Total  

5,500 

17 

Halfway  Point  

193 

ST.  «.l  Olt«.i:  ISLAND,  1893. 


1893. 
May   20 

49 

1893. 
Oct.      20 

North    

30 

29 

North  

132 

23 

Zapadni  

77 

June  12 

do  

197 

27 

East  and  North  

47 

21 

East 

278 

Nov.      6 

38 

26 

555 

17 

do  .. 

31 

July     8 

East 

90 

44 

15 

North 

92 

22 

Staraya  Artel  and  North 

171 

Total  

1,  896 

L29 

East  

65 

[ 

DAILY    KILLINGS. 


205 


ST.  PAUL,  ISLAND,  1894. 


1 

l)ate. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1894.' 
M-iv     9 

87 

1894. 
July     23 

370 

23 

Tolstoi  and  Reef        .   . 

104 

24 

do      

1  025 

31 

141 

25 

do  :  

909 

June  14 

Reef            

1,215 

30 

Middle  Hill  

154 

19 

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill 

541 

Au".      1 

Halfway  Point  

287 

23 

850 

4 

Reef      

272 

25 

558 

Xov.      6 

Middle  Hill  

132 

July     2 

Zoltoi          

967 

21 

Reef  

147 

869 

25 

Tolstoi  and  Reef.  

87 

5 

.  do  

917 

28 

do  

218 

6 

Halfway  Point  

522 

Doc.       4 

Tolstoi,  Lukauin,  and  Reef.  . 

474 

13 

251 

For  watchnieii  to  date  

80 

17 

944 

21 

Reef 

1,177 

Total   •  ..     . 

13  298 

. 

ST.  «.  I  Ol«.  I    ISLAND,  1894. 


1894. 
May  93 

40 

1894. 
July    26 

Zapadni....  

178 

.  do      

126 

Aug.      6 

Little  East  and  North  

152 

22 

East       

826 

Oct.      20 

North  

58 

July     2 

Starava  Artel  

468 

26 

East  

19 

9 

303 

Nov.      6 

North  

35 

13 

East  

275 

Watchmen's  food  for  season 

62 

16 

21 

North  

249 

Total  

2  972 

ST.  PAUL  ISLAND,  1895. 


1895.* 
May  27 
*    27 
June     1 
4 
8 
13 
16 
20 
24 
26 
July     1 
2 
3 
9 
10 
15 
17 
19 
22 

"Watchmen,  Northeast  Point 
Reef           .             ... 

6 
79 
3 
76 
3 
184 
2 
1,961 
1,548 
575 
751 
861 
364 
960 
431 
1,138 
321 
834 
827 

1895. 
July     27 
Aug.      1 
10 
Cct.      31 
Nov.       1 
9 
12 
19 
22 
25 
25 
26 
Dec.       1 
2 
5 
6 
12 

286 
185 
18 
3 
106 
6 
158 
4 
57 
96 
4 
78 
10 
127 
81 
169 
9 

Reef  

Watchmen,  Northeast  Point 
Keef     

Watchmen  to  date  

Watchmen  

Watchmen,  Northeast  Point 
Tolstoi  

Middle  Hill  

Watchmen  

Watchmen,  NortheastPoint 
Northeast  Point  

Tolstoi  

Watchmen  

Reef       

Reef  

Halfway  Point  

Middle  Hill  

English  Bay  

Watchmen  

Zapadni  

Reef  

Reef 

do 

Tolstoi  

Reef 

Reef  

Watchmen  

Total  

NortheastPoint  

12,  324 

1895. 
May  25 
June    3 
14 
24 
24 
26 
29 
July     1 
8 
8 
11 
20 
22 
30 
Aug.    6 

16 
25 
139 
483 
2 
471 
2 
156 
232 
3 
538 

279 

1H 

North         

.  do    

Zapadui  (by  guard)  

Great  and  Little  East  

Zapadni  (hy  guard)  
North  

Starava  Artel  and  North.  .  .  . 

do  

ST.  «.  I  OK«,I     ISLAND,  1895. 


Oct. 


Nov. 


895. 
15 

North  

1 

21 

North      .  .                      

29 

23 

18 

Zapadni  (by  guard)    

3 

"'• 

North    

16 

<f,      2 

Zapadni  (by  guard)  

3 

2 

East  

27 

5 

Zapadui  (by  guard)  

2 

12 

North  

8 

17 

Zapadni  (by  guard)  

4 

North  ......7  

30 

Total     

2,522 

1  Tlio  reduced  number  of  drives  to  be  noted  in  this  and  the  following  year  was  due  to  the  action  of  the  Treasury  agents 
in  limiting  the  number  of  drives  from  each  rookery  to  two  for  the  season.  This  mistaken  policy  was  followed  to  avoid 
the  supposed  injurious  effects  of  driving,  a  concession  which  should  never  have  been  made.  The  result  was  a  disad- 
vantage rather  than  an  advantage  to  the  nerd. 

*  See  note  to  1894.    Here  again  the  driving  was  limited  to  two  drives  at  long  intervals  in  the  regular  season. 


206 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PR1BILOF    ISLANDS. 


ST.   PAUL, 


.  \  >  l».    |s«Mi. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 

males 
killed. 

Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1896.  ' 
May  13 

Sea  Lion  (Sivutch)  Rock.  

121 

July     14 

Northeast  Point  

1896. 
1,  169 

26 

102 

15 

849 

Reef        

149 

16 

Tolstoi  Middle  Hill  English 

19 

Zoltoi          

283 

Bay 

1  138 

23 

Northeast  Point  

1  414 

21 

808 

...  do  

1,408 

22 

do 

1  047 

27 

Reef      

2,076 

23 

585 

29 

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill, 
Tolstoi  

1,398 

25 

Lukaiiin,     Kitovi,      Zoltoi, 
Reef      

1,630 

July    2 

Northeast  Point  

1,396 

27 

Middle  Hill    Tolstoi    Luka- 

3 

.  .  do  

1  109 

niu           

621 

6 

Zoltoi  and  Lukanin  

1,535 

14 

7 

Zapadni  

784 

Oct.      15 

Zoltoi        

59 

8 

Polovina  

961 

Dec.     31 

Killed  for  food  to  date 

1,545 

10 

1  271 

13 

Northeast  Point  

1,045 

Total  

24,  517 

ST.  4,i:OI{4.l     1*1.  I  M».   1896. 


1890. 
May  18 

15 

1896. 
July     21 

East          

221 

31 

do  

46 

24 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  

308 

do  

100 

Oct.      20 

do  

59 

19 

East  

576 

21 

Zapadni  

18 

24 

Zapadni  

568 

31 

Watchmen  

6 

26 
29 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  .  .  . 
East  

999 

804 

Nov.      2 
14 

North  and  Staraya  Artel 
Watchmen  

22 
15 

J  uly     2 

Zapadni  

333 

28 

do  

8 

6 

7 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  .  .  . 

700 
614 

30 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  .  .  . 

17 

9 

221 

Total    

6,137 

13 

North  and  Staraya  Artel  .  .  . 

487 

ST.  PAUL,   I  «l.  A  >  l».  189T. 


1897.  ' 
Mar     2 

19 

1897. 
July     14 

1,  24'J 

17 

29 

16 

886 

May  11 

do    

90 

17 

Middle  Hill,  English  Bav..  . 

297 

22 

Tolstoi 

36 

19 

988 

Reef     

492 

22 

Northeast  Point  

1,322 

18 

316 

23 

Poloviua  

274 

23 

708 

24 

526 

26 

Tolstoi    Middle  Hill    Eng- 

26 

514 

lish  Bay 

1  098 

27 

Tolstoi  Middle  Hill  

199 

30 

790 

29 

Northeast  Point  

268 

July     1 

.do 

703 

30 

do  

276 

2 

208 

31 

108 

5 

Reef  Zoltoi                        .   .. 

703 

Aug.      2 

Reef,  Lukauin  

418 

6 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  Eng- 

1,230 

8       5 
7 

Middle  Hill,  English  Bay  ... 
Reef  

101 

172 

g 

1  713 

9 

456 

Total  todate  

316,  993 

12 

Reef,  Lukanin  

804 

• 

1  In  this  year  more  normal  driving  was  permitted,  but  the  increased  quota  is  not  wholly  due  to  this  fact.  In  the 
season  of  1896  the  hauling  grounds  felt  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  modus  vivendiot  1893.  No  pups  starved  to  death  in 
that  season  and  the  result  was  a  larger  proportion  of  survivors.  A  part,  also,  of  the  seals  which  the  limited  operations 
of  1395  failed  to  secure  were  doubtless  taken  into  the  quota  of  1896. 

3  The  quota  of  1897  was  left  indefinite  under  the  direction  of  the  commission,  and  the  driving  was  planned  with  a  view 
to  making  the  quota  represent  the  full  product  of  the  hauling  ground*.  For  the  same  reason  the  killing  was  continued 
into  August. 

3 This  total,  as  well  as  that  for  St.  Oeorge  Island  following,  does  not  include  such  seals  as  may  have  been  killed  for 
food  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1897. 


SUMMARY    OF    KILLINGS. 
ST.  4.  I  <»!<«.  I     l-l    V  >  l»     |s«lj. 


207 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Total 

males 
killed. 

Date. 

Kookery. 

Total 
males 
killed. 

1897. 
May   23 

Korth  

22 

1897. 
July     10 

6 

East   

45 

13 

253 

13 

Watchmen  

4 

16 

East    

209 

16 

East  

150 

19 

Zapadni  

108 

19 

Watchmen  

4 

•J2 

East,   North   and   Staraya 

24 

do  

2 

Artel  

391 

25 

Zapadni  

140 

31 

Watehmen  

10 

July     1 

Watchmen  

2 

Aug.      2 

East  

179 

3 

Staraya  Artel  

70 

4 

North  and  Starava  Artel 

153 

3 

10 

23 

7 

East  

227 

10 

East,  North    and    Staraya 

Artel  

207 

Total  to  date 

2  207 

Summary  of  total  killings  for  all  purposes  on  Pribilof  Islands,  1870-1897. l 


Date. 

St.  Paul. 

St. 
George. 

Total. 

Date. 

St.  Paul. 

St. 
George. 

Total. 

1870  

15  314 

8  459 

23,  773 

1884  

88  861 

16  573 

105  434 

1871  

81,803 

21,  157 

102,  960 

1885  

88  880 

16  144 

105*  024 

1872  

81,819 

27,  000 

108,  819 

1886  

88  085 

16  436 

104  521 

1873 

81  987 

27  190 

109  177 

1887 

89  099 

16  668 

105  7go 

1874    

98,  139 

12,446 

110.  585 

1888  

86  270 

17  034 

103  304 

1875 

94  960 

11  500 

106  460 

1889 

87  394 

15  225 

102  619 

1876 

83  157 

11,  500 

94,  657 

1890      .  .. 

21  920 

6  139 

28  059 

1877 

67  810 

16  500 

84  310 

1891 

9  579 

2  461 

12  040 

1878 

88  519 

20  804 

109  323 

1892   

5  009 

2  502 

7  511 

1879 

88  221 

22  190 

110,  411 

1893  .  ... 

5  500 

1  896 

7  398 

1880 

84,  779 

20  939 

105,  718 

1894      .  . 

13  298 

2  972 

lg'  270 

1881 

83,  774 

21,  289 

105,  063 

1895    .  . 

12,  324 

2  522 

14  846 

1882  

79,834 

19,  978 

99,  812 

1896  

24  517 

6  137 

3o'  654 

1883  

63,295 

16,  214 

79,509 

1897''...  

16,993 

2  207 

19*  200 

'This  table  includes  all  males  killed  for  any  purpose  on  the  islands,  pups,  stagy  seals  killed  for  food  and  seals  whose 
skins  were  not  accepted  by  the  lessees.  The  totals  here  given  are  taken  for  the  year  beginning  January  1  and  ending 
December  31,  and  therefore  do  not  correspond  to  the  totals  as  represented  by  the  quota. 

2 To  date  of  August  7  on  St.  Paul;  of  August  10  ou  St.  George. 

Record  of  killinys  on  Northeast  Point  (St.  Paul)  and  Zapadni  (St.  Georye)  rookeries,  1871-1897. 

NOTE  — These  figures  are  in  part  taken  from  the  foregoing  table  of  killings.  Where  this  does  not  distinguish  the 
rookeries  concerned,  the  information  is  taken  from  the  log  of  St.  Paul  Island.  The  results  from  these  two  isolated  rookeries 
are  interesting  and  important  in  that  they  show  the  same  relative  conditions  as  are  shown  by  the  herd  as  a  whole. 


Date. 

Total 
Zapadni. 

Total 
Northeast 
Point.1 

Date. 

Total       , 
Zapadni.    J 

Ig71                            

4  840 

20  113 

1885       

3  873 

1872            

5,194 

26,  082 

1886  

4  325 

187;$            

7,507 

26,  376 

1887  

4  017 

1874              

1,436 

31,569 

1888  

4  063 

1875              

1,294 

35,  193 

1889  

4  015 

1876            

599 

20,  014 

1890  

1  330 

1877     

1,389 

20,  266 

1891  

509 

1878     

5,428 

22,961 

1892  

92 

1879  

4,866 

29,  212 

1893  

77 

1880  

6,037 

25,  865 

1894...:  

481 

1881  

3,861 

18,  294 

1895  

287 

1882 

21,  482 

1896 

1  122 

1883  

5,226 

1  13,  423 

1897  

293 

1884  

5,463 

23,  068 

! 

1  The  average  quota  from  Northeast  Point  for  twelve  years  (1871  to  1882)  was  24,500.    With  very  much  closer  killing 
it  only  yielded  this  year  about  one-fourth  this  amount. 

"In  thia  year  as  well  as  the  year  preceding  the  quota  was  contracted  to  about  85,000  for  commercial  reasons. 


208 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


Fur  seals  killed  on  the  island  of  St.  Paul,  for  all  purposes,  from  1870  to  1X89,  both,  iticlusire. 
[Compiled  from  tables  on  file  in  the  Treasury  Department.] 


Year. 

Seals  killed  for  natives'  food. 

Seals  killed  for  skins  for 
lessees. 

Totals  of  bachelors  killed, 
accepted,  and  rejected. 

Grand 
totals  of 
seals  killed 
for  all  pur- 
poses. 

Pups. 

Bache- 
lors. 

Skins 
ac- 
cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

Bache- 
lors. 

Skins 
ac- 
cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

Bache-        Skil18 
lor8'         cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

1870 

2,  800 
2,877 
5,  121 
5,489 
4,897 
3,745 
3,  958 
5,  007 
5,206 
5,071 
4,413 

6,449 
2,341 
6,916 
2,090 
4,874 
6,282 
5,061 
4,041 
4.718 
5,970 
4,466 
7,538 
5,175 
3,168 
3,907 
3,184 
3,081 
4,207 
3,762 
3,400 

6,449 
51 
1,551 
892 
649 
498 
1,997 
1,188 
1,086 
2,072 
1,418 
1,470 
1,813 
974 
1,325 
676 
601 
232 
62 
830 

6,065 
75,  585 
69,  782 
74.  408 
88,  368 
84,  933 
74,  138 
58,  762 
78,  595 
77,  280 
75.  900 
76,  236 
74,  659 
57,  145 
82,  213 
82,  908 
82,  180 
82,  708 
80,  330 
81,  712 

6,017 
74,  628 
69,  576 
73,  884 
88,  258 
84,  860 
71,  137 
58,  732 
78,  570 
77,  280 
75,  872 
76,  169 
74,  581 
57,  070 
82,  086 
82,  866 
82,150 
82,  679 
80,  314 
81,  698 

48 
957 
206 
.   524 
110 
73 
1 
30 
25 

12,  514           6,  017 
77,  926         76,  918 
76,  698         74,  941 
76,  498         75,  082 
93,  242         92,  483 
91,215         90,644 
79,  199         77,  201 
62,803         61,585 
83,313         82.202 
83,250         81,178 
80,  366         78,  920 
83,774  j      82,226 
79,834         77,943 
60,  313         59,  264 
86,  120         84,  668 
86,092         85,374 
85,  261         84,  630 
86,  915         86,  654 
84,  092         84,  014 
85,112         84,268 

6,497 
1,008 
1,757 
1,416 
759 
571 
1,998 
1,218 
1,111 
2,072 
1,446 
1,537 
1,891 
1,049 
1,452 
718 
631 
201 
78 
844 

15,314 
81,  803 
81,819 
81,  987 
98,  139 
94,  960 
83,  157 
67,  810 
88,  519 
88,  321 
84,  779 
83,  774 
79,  834 
63,  295 
88,  861 
88,  880 
88,  085 
89,  092 
86,  270 
87,  392 

1871 

2,290 
5,365 
1,  198 
4,225 
5,784 
3,064 
2,  853 
3,632 
3,898 
3,408 
6,068 
3,362 
2,194 
2,  582 
2,508 
2,  480 
3,  975 
3,700 
2,570 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875  

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879  

1880  

28 
67 
78 
75 
127 
42 
30 
29 
16 
14 

1881    

1882    

1883    

2,982 
2,741 
2,788 
2,824 
2,177 
2,178 
2,280 

.1884  

1885          

1886  

1887  

1888  

1889    

Total.. 

67,  554 

90,630 

64,796 

25,  834 

1,  463,  907 

1,461,427 

2,480 

1,554,537    1,526,212 

28.  314 

1,  622,  091 

NOTE, — The  above  statement  includes  all  seals  killed  from  all  causes,  either  intentional  or  accidental,  incident  to 
the  taking  of  seal  skins  on  the  island  of  St.  Paul. 

Fur  seals  killed  on  the  island  of  St.  George,  for  all  purposes,  from  1870  to  1889,  both  inclitsire. 
[Compiled  from  tables  on  file  in  the  Treasury  Department.] 


Year. 

Seals  killed  for  natives'  food. 

Seals  killed  for  skins  for 
lessees. 

Totals  of  bachelors  killed, 
accepted,  and  rejected. 

Grand 
totals  of 
seals 
killed  for 
all  pur- 
poses. 

Pups. 

Bach- 
elors. 

Skins 
ac- 
cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

Bache- 
lors. 

Skins 
ac- 
cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

Bache- 
lors. 

Skins 
ac- 
cepted. 

Skins 
re- 
jected. 

1870  

1,200 

7,259 
18,  830 
25,  000 
25,  000 
10,  000 
10,000 
10,000 
14,  744 
17,  772 
19,  841 
18,  907 
19,  446 
19,  495 
14,  739 
14,  728 
14.  745 
14,  606 
14,  727 
14,  647 
13,  642 

7,259 
18,  830 
25,  000 
25,  000 
10,  000 
10,  000 
10,  000 
14,744 
17,  772 
19,  758 
18,  830 
19,  360 
19,  440 
14,  675 
14,  620 
14,  686 
14,  578 
14,  725 
14,  582 
13,641 

7,259 
19,  067 
25,  000 
25,  000 
10,  000 
10,  000 
10,000 
15,  000 
19,  304 
20,  684 
19,  609 
20,  258 
19,  978 
15,214 
15,  073 
15,064 
15,  150 
15,  312 
16,  056 
14,  154 

7,259 
19,  067 
25,  000 
25,  000 
10,  00(1 
10,  000 
10,000 
15,  000 
18,  988 
20,  322 
19,  395 
19,  869 
19,  811 
15,  143 
14,  843 
14,  990 
14,  991 
15,  196 
15,  903 
13,921 

8,459 
21,157 
27,  000 
27,  !!)() 
12,  440 
11,500 
11.50(1 
16,500 
20,  804 
22,  190 
2(1.  939 
21,  289 
19,  978 
16.214 
16,  573 
16,  144 
16,  436 
16,  668 
17,084 
15,  225 

1871  

2,090 
2,000 

237 

237 

1872       

1873        

2,190 
2,446 

1874         

1875 

1.500 

1876       

1,500 

1877 

1,500 
1,500 
1,  506 
1,  330 
1,031 

256 
1,  532 
843 
702 
812 
483 
475 
345 
319 
544 
585 
1,409 
512 

256 
1,216 
564 
565 
509 
371 
468 
223 
304 
413 
471 
1,321 
280 

1878 

316 
279 
137 
303 
112 
7 
122 
15 
131 
114 
88 
232 

H16 
3G2 
214 
389 
167 
71 
230 
74 
159 
116 
153 
233 

1H79         .     .  . 

83 
77 
86 
55 
64 
108 
59 
28 
2 
65 
1 

1880 

1881 

1882      .  .  . 

1883 

1,000 
1,500 
1,080 
1,286 
1,356 
978 
1,071 

1884 

1885 

1886 

1887 

1888 

1889       

Total... 

28,064 

9,054 

7,198 

1,856       318,128 

317,  550           628       327,  182       324,  698 

2,484 

355,  246 

NOTE.— The  above  statement  includes  all  seals  killed  from  all  causes,  either  intentional  or  accidental,  incident  to  the 
taking  of  seal  skins  on  the  island  of  St.  George. 


STATISTICS    OF    KILLINGS    FOR    1896. 


Fur  seals  killed  on  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  for  all  purposes,  from  1870  to 
1889,  both  inclusive,  being  a  summary  of  the  two  foregoing  tables. 


St.  Paul 
Island. 

St.  George 
Island. 

Total. 

Seals  killed  for  natives'  food: 

67,  554 

28,064 

95,  628 

90,  630 

9,054 

99,  684 

64.  7'.)G 

7,198 

71,  994 

25,  834 

1,856 

27,  790 

Seals  killed  for  skins  for  lessees: 

1,  463,  907 

318,  128 

1,  782,  035 

1,461,427 

317,  500 

1,  778,  927 

2  480 

628 

3,  108 

Total  of  bachelors  killed,  accepted,  and 
rejected: 

1,  554,  537 

327,  182 

1,881,719 

1,  526.  212 

324,  C98 

1,  850,  910 

28,  314 

2,484 

30,  798 

Grand  total  of  seals  killed  for  all 

1,  622,  091 

355,  246 

1  977  337 

a  We  have  had  occasion  to  call  attention  to  the  waste  which  these  figures  show,  due  to  the  killing  of  pups  and  seals 
whose  akins  were  unsuitable  for  use. 

Statistics  of  regular  killings  for  the  quota,  1896. 

NOTK. — These  tables  refer  only  to  the  drives  of  the  regular  killing  season.  The  totals  do  not  include  the  accumulated 
food  skins  of  the  autumn  and  spring  which  became  a  part  of  the  quota  From  these  figures  an  idea  of  the  relative  degree 
of  exhaustion  of  tin-  hauling  grounds  for  the  two  seasons  can  be  obtained. 

ST.  PAUL  ISLAND. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Animals 
killed. 

Rejected. 

Percent- 
age 
killed. 

Large. 

Small. 

iKfln. 
June  19 
20 
23 
24 
27 
29 
July     2 
3 
6 
7 
8 
10 
13 
14 
15 
16 
21 
22 
23 
25 
27 

283 
.414 

Northeast  Point  

do                                                                                             408 

Beef  ,076  !  

English  Bay,  Middle  Hill,  Tolstoi  .398  '  

Northeast  Point  

,396 

do     

,109 
,535 

Zoltoi,  Lukanin  

Zapadni  

784 
961 
1,271 
1,045 
1,109 
849 
1,13* 
803 
1,047 

Polovina  

Reef,  Zoltoi  

}      1,  159 

548 
279 

811 

do 

Reef  Zoltoi                                                  

522 

1,038 
637 

44 

46 

35 

Tolstoi  Middle  Hill,  English  Bay  

do  

585 
1,630 
621 

313 

1.008 
457 

344               47 
1,  177              42 
137              53 

Lukanin,  Kitovi,  Zoltoi,  Reef  

Middle  Hill.  Tolstoi,  Lukanin  

Total... 

22,  529 

ST.  GEORGE  ISLAND. 


1896. 

East        •  576 

M 

24 

Zapadni                 .                       568 

76 

26 

North  and  Staraya  Artel          999 

72 

29 

East      804 

62 

July     2 

Zapadni  333 

68 

0 

North  and  Starava  Artel  700 

56 

East  and  Little  East     614 

57 

9 

Zapadni  221 

64 

265              40 

13 

North  and  Starava  Artel  <I87 

46 

East  221 



27 

24 

North  and  Starava  Artel  308 

17 

Total  5.  830 

St.  Paul  Island 
St.  George  Island 

To  t  al 

15184  -  U 


RECAPITULATION. 


22,  529 
5,  836 


28,  365 


210 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


Statistics  of  regular  killings  for  the  quota,  1897. 
ST.  PAUL. 


Date. 

Rookery. 

Animals 
killed. 

Rejected.  ' 

Percent- 
age 
killed. 

Weight 
ot 
skins.2 

Large. 

Small. 

1897. 
June  15 
18 
23 
26 
30 
July     1 
2 
5 
6 
8 
9 
12 
14 
16 
17 
19 
22 
23 
24 
26 
27 
29 
30 
31 
Aug.    2 
5 
7 

jtcef  

492 
316 
708 
1,098 
790 
703 
208 
703 
1,  230 
1,713 
456 
804 
1,249 
886 
297 
988 
1,322 
274 
526 
514 
199 
268 
276 
108 
418 
101 
172 

144 
130 
556 
402 
376 
288 
107 
229 
301 
355 
97 
140 
216 
391 
180 
377 
500 
161 
352 
491 
221 
298 
383 
118 
350 
159 
200 

119 
26 
184 
214 
214 
224 
90 
175 
306 
551 
115 
638 
661 
586 
412 
1.174 
2,047 
698 
1,380 
890 
545 
1,114 
708 
456 
1,440 
376 
486 

65 
67 
48 
64 
57 
58 
53 
63 
67 
65 
68 
50 
58 
53 
66 
39 
34 
24 
23 
27 
20 
16 
20 
16 
19 
15 
20 

Pounds. 

9 

7.7 
7.4 

7 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  and  English  Hay  . 

do 

7.7 
7.8 
7.6 

Tolstoi,  Middle  Hill,  and  English  Bay  . 

7.5 

7.8 
8 
7 

Middle  Hill  and  English  Bay 

8.5 
7.4 
8.3 

Tolstoi  and  Middle  Hill 

do                                            .          ... 

7.9 
8 
7.7 

7 

Middle  Hill  and  English  Bay 

Reef  

Total 

16,819 

ST.  GEORGE. 

1897. 
June  16 
19-24 
25 
July     1 
3 
3 
7 
8-10 
13 
16 
17 
19 
22 
24-31 
Aug.    2 
4 
5-9 
10 
11 

150 
10 
140 
2 
70 
4 
227 
6 
253 
209 
4 
104 
391 
10 
179 
153 
6 
207 

93 

159 

36 

74 

192 

34 

21 

330 

16 

East 

41 

741 

22 

54 
34 

045 
690 

26 

22 

7.5 
7 

71 

82 

563 
1,020 

13 
18 

East  North,  and  Staraya  Artel  

7.3 

East                                  

47 
23 

902 
725 

16 
16 

87 

1,343 

12 

17 

Total                              



2.  142 

RECAPITULATION. 

St.  Paul  Island 16,819 

St.  George  Island  , '- 2.142 

Total.,.                                                      3 18,  901 


1  The  total  number  of,  animals  rejected  during  the  season  can  not  l>e  taken  as  indicating  the  number  of  bachelors  not 
of  killable  age  left,  as  many  of  these  were  driven  several  times  and  many  of  the  younger  seals  doubtless  do  not  come  to  the 
islands  at  all  during  the  killing  season.  The  small  seals  will  be  taken  into  the  quotas  of  1898  and  1899;  the  large  seals  go  to 
swell  the  already  overstocked  'reserve  of  breeding  male  life.  Until  this  excess  of  male  life  is  reduced  to  normal  conditions 
an  effort  should  be  made  each  year,  as  was  done  in  1897.  to  exhaust  the  supply  of  killable  seals. 

zThe  weight  here  given  'is  that  of  100  skins  weighed  in  lots  of  10  each. 

s This  includes  all  animals  killed.    The  skins  of  131  animals  were  rejected  by  the  lessees. 


LAND    AND    SEA    KILLING. 


211 


regarding  land  and  sea  liUllng,  1871-1897. 

Note:  A  study  of  this  table  clearly  indicates  the  decline  of  the  herd  since  1884,  as  measured  on 
its  hauling  grounds,  and  shows  in  the  expansion  of  pelagic  sealing  the  cause  of  this  decline. 


Year. 

Date 
quota 
tilled,  a 

Hauling 
grounds 
driven.1 

Number 
of 
drives,  a 

Killed 
on  land.  6 

Killed 
at  sea. 

Ig71              

July  28 

46 

43 

102  960 

16  911 

1&72         

Julv  95 

43 

30 

108  819 

5  336 

187^                              

Jul'y  24 

51 

37 

109  177 

5  2'-"9 

1874  

July  17 

61 

41 

110  585 

5  873 

1875  

July  16 

55 

37 

106  460 

5  033 

1876   

c  Aug.  1 

36 

30 

94,  657 

5  515 

1877               ..        

July  14 

44 

32 

84  310 

5  210 

1878                   

July  18 

54 

35 

109  323 

5  544 

187!)            

July  16 

71 

36 

110  411 

8  557 

1880            

July  17 

78 

38 

105  718 

8  418 

1881      

July  20 

99 

34 

105  063 

10  382 

1882        

do  .  .. 

86 

36 

99  812 

15  551 

1883     

July  19 

81 

39 

79  509 

16  557 

1884  

July  21 

101 

42 

105,  434 

16  971 

1885  

July  27 

106 

63 

105  024 

23  040 

1886  

July  26 

117 

74 

104,  521 

28  494 

1887            .  .          

July  24 

101 

66 

105  760 

30  628 

1888                 

July  27 

102 

73 

103  304 

26  189 

1889       

July  31 

110 

74 

102  617 

29  858 

1890            .     

d  July  20 

87 

55 

28  059 

40  814 

1891   .          

(«) 

(e) 

12  040 

59  568 

1892        

(e) 

(e) 

7  511 

46  642 

1893    

(e) 

(e) 

7  396 

30  812 

1894  

Aug.  4 

16  270 

61  838 

1895 

Julv  27 

14  846 

50  291 

1896  

do  .  .  . 

31 

21 

/30,  654 

43  917 

1897  

Aug.  7 

42 

27 

/  19,  200 

24  391 

a  These  figures  refer  to  the  hauling  grounds  of  St.  Paul. 

b  These  totals  include  all  males  killed  for  any  purpose  on  the  islands. 

c  In  1876  the  killing  was  begun  at  an  unusual  date,  said  to  be  on  account  of  an  exceptionally  late  season. 

d  Closed  by  order  of  the  agent  in  charge. 

e  Years  of  the  modus  vivendi. 

/These  figures  as  originally  published  (28,964  and  20,890)  in  an  appendix  to  the  report  of  the  fur-seal  conference  are 
slightly  in  error  because  of  confusion  resulting  from  an  effort  to  eliminate  certain  food  skins  taken  in  the  fall  of  the  year 
preceding. 

XOTES   OX   FOREGOING   TABLE. 

1.  The  figures  refer  to  the  Pribilof  herd. 

2.  The  dates  given  for  the  filling  of  the  quota  refer  only  to  St.  Paul  Island.     The  same  is  true  of 
the  data  regarding  the  number  of  drives  and  hauling  grounds. 

3.  The  totals  for  land  killing  represent  all  males  killed  for  any  purpose — the  filling  of  the  quota 
and  the  supplying  of  food  for  the  natives.     They  therefore  include  pups  and  seals  whose  skins  were 
rejected  because  stagy  or  otherwise  unsuitable.     The  figures  are  taken  from  the  list  of  daily  killings  ' 
prepared  by  Colonel  Murray,  and,  in  accordance  with  the  method  adopted  by  him,  they  begin  and  end 
with  January  instead  of  with  August,  the  date  at  which  the  quota  is  begun  and  ended. 

4.  The  totals    for   the  pelagic   catch  are  taken   from   the   statistical  tables2  published  by  the 
Treasury  Department  for  1896. 

5.  The  later  date  at  which  the  quota  was  filled  in  1871-1873  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  these  years 
part  of  the  quota  was  taken  the  preceding  fall.     After  1893  the  regular  driving  for  the  quota  was  all 
done  in  June  and  July. 

6.  From  the  log  of  the  islands  it  would  appear  that  the  season  of  1876  was  a  peculiar  one,  the 
movements  of  the  animals  being  some  two  or  three  weeks  behind  that  of  preceding  years. 

7.  The  contraction  in  the  killing  on  land  in  1876-77  and  1882-83  was  voluntary  on  the  part  of 
the  lessees. 

8.  In  1891-1893  land  killing  was  limited  under  the  modus  vivendi.     Bering  Sea  was  closed  for 
the  same  reason  in  1892-93,  but  pelagic  sealing  went  on  off  the  Northwest  Coast. 

9.  The  driving  for  the  year  1890  was  closed  on  July  20  by  order  of  the  Department. 


1  Published  to  1890  in  Senate  Doc.  137, 1895. 

2  Fur-seal  catch,  season  of  1896.     Treas.  Dept.  Doc.  1932, 1897. 


212 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRII5ILOF    ISLANDS. 


Daily  counts  of  co/r-s-.1 

Note:  These  counts  show  clearly  tin-  gradual  development  of  rookery  population  during  the 
breeding  season.  The  cows  begin  to  arrive  about  the  12th  of  June.  The  maximum  of  population  is 
reached  about  July  15,  from  which  time  on  there  is  a  gradual  decrease  of  population  due  to  the 
lengthening  absence  of  the  cows  on  their  food  excursions. 


Date. 

Cows 
present. 

Bate. 

Cows 
present. 

Amphitheater  of  Kitovi. 

0 

If  ecord,  of  harems  —  Continued. 
July  13... 

46 

13 

0 

25  

53 

14                                  

2 

15     

3 

Lvkanin  roukeni. 

16  

3 

June  12  

1 

18  

6 

13  
14  

1 
3 

20  

8 

15  .... 

5 

2L  
22  
23  
24  
25  
26  
27  
28  
29  
30  
July     1  
2  
:»  •  
4  
5  
6  
7  
8  

9 
23 
87 
45 
56 
76 
105 
137 
168 
210 
246 
290 
362 
414 
499 
518 
560 
585 

17  
18  
lit  
20  

22  
215  
24  
25  
26  
27  
28  
29  
30  
July     1  
2  
•     3  

11 

19 
25 
H7 
52 
74 
103 
131 
176 
207 
257 

635 

880 
939 

9  
10  
11  
12  
13  
14  
15  
16  
17  
18  
19  
20  
21  
22  
23  
24  
25  ,  
26  

'587 
G60 
703 

654 
556 
703 
678 
698 
566 
556 
429 
528 
416 
469 
465 
426 
463 

5  
6  
7  
8  
9  
10  
11  
12  
13  
15  
14'  
15  
16  
17  
18  
19  
20  
21  

1,197 
1,264 
1,371 
1,  531 
•1,641 
1,080 
1,755 

1,736 
1,841 
306 
327 
S26 
338 
228 
290 
214 
215 

28  
29  

304 
414 

22  
23  

219 
212 

30  
31  

427 

375 

25  
26 

186 

27       

157 

Record  of  harems. 

28                   

177 

T              1  I 

1 

29  

149 

°0 

3 

30  

127 

30 

10 

31  

324* 

julv     g          

35 

1  Weather  clear;  no  storms  or  surf,  except  one  day  when  rain  fell,  causing  a  larger  number  of  cows  to  take  to  the 
water  and  making  it  difficult  to  distinguish  those  present  from  the  rocks. 

'After  July  14  it  became  impossible,  on  account  of  the  scattering  of  the  cows,  to  continue  the  count  for  the  entire 
rookery  without' too  great  loss  of  time,  and  so  a  section  of  18  harems  was  singled  out  and  the  count  continued  on  it. 


BREEDING    SEALS    AND    DEAD    PUPS. 


213 


Comparative  census,  1896-97. 

Note:  These  figures  represent  in  detail  the  final  estimates  of  the  Commission  .-is  to  the  number  of 
breeding  seals  on  the  rookeries  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  for  the  seasons  in  question. 


Rookery. 

1890  (revised).                        1807. 

Harems. 

Cows. 

Harems. 

Cows. 

ST.  PAUL. 
Kitovi  

182 
120 
86 
176 
147 
467 
543 
210 
302 
27 
504 
105 
153 
45 
975 
293 

6,049 
2,484 
2,496 
3,862 
4,880 
15,504 
18.  027 
4,  584 
10,  026 
890 
16,  732 
3.486 
5,079 
1,494 
32,  370 
9.  727 

179 
115  ' 
61 
114 
139 
393 
458 
170 
308 
33 
454 
102 
143 
40 
910 
233 

5,289 
2,598 
2,200 
3,041 
4,100 
11,593 
13,511 
5,  192 
9,086 
730 
13,  393 
3,  009 
4,218 
1,  180 
20.  845 
(i.  873 

Lagoon  

Polovina  Cliffs  

Zapadni  Reef  

Lukaniu  

Tolstoi  

Zapadiii  

Little  Zapadn  i  

(iorbatch  

Ardiguen  

Keef  

Sivntch  

Polovina  

Little  Polovina  

Vostochui  

Morjovi  

Total  

4,335 

137,  696          3,  858 

112,  864 

ST.   GEORGK. 

3f  orth  

200 
44 
135 
143 
75 

6,640 
1,  350 
4,482 
4,747 
2,490 

196 
46 
128 
133 

57 

5,  782 
1,190 
3.  770 
3,  923 
1,681 

Little  East  

East  

Zapadni  

Starava  Artel  

Total  

597 

19,  709 

560 

16,  352 

RECAI'ITfl.ATION. 

St.  Paul  

4.335 
:597 

137.  696           3,858 
19,709               560 

112,864 
16,  352 

St.  George  

Grand  total  

4,  932 

157,  405 

4.418 

129,  216 

Pup  statistics,  1896 — Summary. 

Note:  The  dead  bodies  of  pups  were  originally  counted  in  August.  These  together  with  the 
accessions  through  starvation  were  recounted  in  October,  the  earlier  counts  being  deducted  to 
determine  the  number  starved.  As  the  period  of  starvation  was  not  yet  completed,  a  count  of  those 
plainly  dying  was  made,  and  these  are  designated  as  "starving." 


Dead. 

August.     October. 

ST.  PAUL  ISLAND. 

Kitovi  

109              609 

500                 42 

205              579 

374                 97 

78  '            316 

238                51 

1  895  :        2  449 

"'54                191 

3,  095           4  395 

1  300               154 

134              693 

55')                64 

Zapadni  Keef  

104              327 

923                 18 

712           1,878 

1  100              1^6 

Ardignen  

2                78 

76                  8 

Keef  

950           2,  786 

1  836              300 

Si  \-utch  Kock  

50              284 

234                31 

Polovina  

635           1,  555 

920                55 

47              119 

7"                7f> 

1  808           3  313 

1   5°">               '(29 

-Murjovi  

485               950 

445               10') 

Total  . 

10,309         20  331 

111  022           1  5^ 

1  Addition  of  20  per  rent  for  loss  between  August  andOcto- 

2  001 

Starving  pups  to  be  added  as  starved  

1.527      . 

Addition  for  bodies  taken  for  dissection    

150 

Total  starved    I3,7i;o   .. 

1 i I J 

'The  estimate  of  20  per  cent  hern  made  for  the  disappearance  of  carcasses  between  August  and  October  is  shown  by 
the  experiences  of  1897  to  bean  underestimate.      Kilty  per  cent  would  have  been  nearer  the  t'acl. 


214 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


Pup  statistics,  1890 — Summary — Continued. 


Kookory. 

Dead. 

Starved. 

Starving. 

August. 

October. 

ST.  GEORGE  ISLAND. 

North                      .       .  .                                        

259 
135 
199 
112 
31 

145 
194 
527 
15 
16 

762 
253 
617 
457' 
151 

7 
3 
4 
4 
1 

East  

Total                                      .   .  .               

736 

897 

1  2,  240 
19 

19 

Total  



'•        2,  259 

Grand  total  for  both  islands    

11,045 

21,  228 

16,019 

1,546 

1  The  figures  herein  given  for  starved  pnps  on  the  rookeries  of  St.  George  are  estimates  bflsed  upon  the  conditions 
of  St.  Paul.  The  foxes  had  eaten  not  only  the  carcasses  of  the  earlier  deau  pups  on  St.  George,  but  also  those  of  the 
starved  pups. 


Dead  pups  before  August  10,  1896-1897. 


Rookery. 

1896. 

1897. 

ST.   PAUL. 

Kitovi       

109 

202 

78 

70 

205 

252 

Tolstoi             

1,895 

'592 

3,095 

2  689 

134 

(:i) 

104 

70 

712 

382 

2 

10 

Keef                                                           -           

950 

642 

50 

<3) 

635 

(3) 

47 

(3) 

1,808 

(3) 

485 

(3) 

Total  

10,  309 

2,910 

ST.  GEORGE. 

North          

259 

244 

Little  10;  i  Ht                    

31 

34 

112 

93 

199 

112 

Staraya  Artel  

135 

75 

Total  -  

736 

558 

11,  045 



'Only  the  sand  flat  was  counted,  on  which  were  1,495  pups  in  1896. 
2  Only  the  gully  known  as  the  "death  trap"  was  counted. 
8  Not  counted  iu  1897. 


PELAGIC    SEALING. 


215 


PELAGIC  SEALING  CATCHES.   1804-1897. 

Note:  The  detailed  cratches  of  the  American  and  Canadian  sealing  fleets  for  the  period  1894-1897 
are  here  given  to  illustrate  the  absence  of  beneficial  effect  from  the  regulations  of  the  Paris  Award 
under  which  the  pelagic  sealing  industry  has  been  conducted  since  1894,  and  incidentally  to  show  the 
decline  of  the  herd  as  manifest  in  the  declining  catch.  The  latter  fact  taken  in  connection  with  the 
diminishing  Meet  shows  the  growing  unprofitableness  of  the  pelagic  industry. 

Fur-seal  catch  of  American  vessels  for  1894.1 
[Prepared  by  A.  B.  Alexander.] 


'Senate  Doc.  137, 1895. 

"This  vessel  liml  not  yet  returned. 

'Lost;  number  of  skins  not  known. 


4  Lost:  535  skins  taken:  none  saved. 
6 Lost;  skins  not  saved. 
6 Indians  from  Neah  hay. 


216 


THE    FFR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOP    ISLANDS. 


fur-seal  catch  of  Canadian  renseh  for  1S94.] 
[From  onVial  sources.] 


VeMete. 

Tons. 

Crews. 

Catch. 

Total. 

White. 

Indi- 
ans. 

British    T._. 

"Sir  jr" 

coast, 
coast. 

Copper 
Island. 

Jierii 
Male. 

g  Sea. 
Female. 

69 

39 

22 
6 
25 
24 
19 
26 
25 
22 
26 
8 
6 
26 
24 
25 
1C 
19 
22 
14 
23 
26 
20 
20 
19 
24 
8 
25 
23 
8 
26 
27 
25 
22 
22 
24 
18 
27 
5 
4 
5 
8 
5 

24 
7 
6 
6 
5 
5 
5 
3 
9 
1 

1,254 
1,043 
2,588 
1,733 
l.Wil 
2,  383 
1.  197 

314 

1,568 
1,899 
2,  801 
1,909 
9  394 

16 

425 
30 

431 
30 

99 
81 
150 
100 
80 

0:1 

24 
68 
159 
107 
99 
73 
46 
43 
93 
58 
63 
92 
60 
70 
60 
76 
98 
80 
96 
109 
82 
92 
63 
56 
83 
97 
41 
99 
66 
40 
180 
13 
25 
25 
66 
38 
37 
82 
75 
58 
16 
48 
76 
23 
21 
46 
31 
19 
81 
51 
49 

153 

176 
433 
343 

2,726 
1,288 
1,926 
2,584 
2,143 
1,557 
2,178 
•  710 
2,108 
1,554 
1,124 
1,210 
1,122 
2,452 
1,437 
641 
1,602 

39 

52 

.  .    .       1  .  926    

2,584 
1  471 

Walter  A  Earle 

20 

18 

155 

310 

517 
336 

911 
1,707 
710 
1,603 
1,304 
874 
1,  010 
925 
1,909 
1,437 

Allies  Macdonald  
\v  P  Hall 

471 

503 
250 
250 
200 
907 
86 

City  of  San  Die^o 



May  Belle 



Mary  Ellen  

105 

352 

Viva    

606 
1,306 
1,075 

35 

290 

Vera  

80 

115 

1,270 
1,947 
4.  560 
1,637 
2,118 
2,640 
2,028 
1,650 
1,222 
1,954 
804 
1,429 
931 
177 
1,518 
1,103 
1,846 
2.256 
868 
400 
1,681 
838 
1,452 
1,328 
2,124 
946 
411 
909 
2,440 
175 
92 
2,153 
869 
684 
1.082 
357 
1,703 
3,  989 

1,947 

3C 

1,320 

"i','ou 

2,118 

"'623' 

1,163 

2,077 

Otto 

E  B  Marvin 

32 

535 

1,226 

879 

1,  49V 
1,092 
1.102 
1,783 
530 
1,343 
693 
96 

531 
558 
120 
171 
274 
86 
21 
81 

Sadie  Tnrpcl 

Maud  S 

79 

138 

Florence  M.  Smith  

22 
16 
37 
37 
14 

n 

358 

342 
299 
752 
938 
179 

818 
246 
488 
1,009 
Ml 

558 

606 
309 
308 
400 
418 
170 
303 
269 
467 
79 
34 

1,263 

17 

20 
26 
22 
20 
10 
17 
25 
13 
8 
20 
14 
12 
17 
22 

290 
90 
490 
1,092 
303 
232 
417 

1,000 

378 
1,059 
569 
565 
564 
145 
492 
749 

Kate                    

Shelby     

Walter  L  Rich 

691 
175 

92 
488 
20 

6 
5 

2 

5 
7 
21 

679 

256 

307 
427 

986 
MB 
327 
340 

315 

357 

C  D  Rand 

1,703 

Canoe  catch  by  Indians 
Total   

3,  989 

I 

3,806 

888       518 

11,703 

48,993 

7,437 

11,705 

14,'6:!0        94,  474 

'Senate  Doc.  137,  1895. 


PELAGIC    SEALING. 

Catch  of  American  resnels  engaged  in  pelagic  sealint/  during  ihe  season  of  189"). ' 


217 


Vessel. 

Japan 
waters. 

Russian 
waters. 

American 
coast. 

Bering 
Sea. 

Total. 

J.Eppinger  

925 

452 

1  377 

Herman  

637 

430 

1  067 

E  .  E  .  W  ebs  ter  

766 

'>70 

1   036 

Alton  

316 

142 

358 

Mattie  T.  Dyer  

149 

14') 

Kinnia  and  Louisa  

269 

507 

776 

Bonan  za  

926 

289 

1  215 

Bowhead  

666 

18 

684 

Winchester  

589 

102 

232 

()23 

Sophia  Sutherland  

295 

14 

309 

Columbia  

369 

544 

913 

James  G.  Swan  

224 

1  084 

1  308 

Stella  Erland  

165 

676 

841 

Puritan  

10 

10 

Teazer  .  .. 

87 

87 

August  .   .. 

0 

| 

Matilda  

35 

35 

C.C.Perkins  

34 

34 

Elsie  

209 

200 

Bering  Sea  

180 

663 

843 

Deeahka  

82 

592 

674 

Emmet  Felitz         ..  .     . 

49 

Idler  

41 

41 

Jessie  

24 

94 

R.  Ecrett  

99 

99 

Kate  and  Anna  

391 

39  1 

George  W.  Prescott  

329 

329 

Allie  I.  Algar  

1  004 

193 

1   197 

Kattler  

576 

472 

1  048 

Jane  Gray  

1,  112 

185 

1  297 

Teresa  _.  

426 

426 

W.  Ainsworth  

1,180 

61 

440 

1  681 

M.  M.  Merrill  

591 

393 

'984 

Louis  Olsen  

660 

349 

1  009 

Ida  Etta  

574 

484 

1  058    ' 

Total  

10  817 

1  250 

2  269 

8  951 

22  587 

1  Report  of  Secretary  of  Treasury,  1895,  pp.  CLXXI-II. 


Fur-seal  catch  of  Canadian  vessels  for  1895, ' 


Vessel. 

Tons. 

Crew. 

Boats. 

Canoes. 

Catch. 

1 

o 
H 

2 
_*_ 

28 
7 
2 
8 
26 
22 
7 
5 
18 
21 

Indians. 

British  Colum- 
bia coast. 

Japan  coast. 

Vicinity  of  Cop- 
per Island. 

Bering  Sea. 

V 

1 

Females. 

Agnes  McDonald  

107 
75 
18 
113 
82 
86 
41 
66 
49 
37 
100 
51 
76 
63 
46 
50 
87 
93 
96 
69 
80 
59 

14 
26 
14 
30 

8 
2 

"~2~ 

g 

7 
13 
7 
15 

711 

593 
479 

669 
515 

1,973 
1,319 
65 
1,647 
2,  022 
1,106 
821 
1,676 
202 
1,648 
881 
784 
1,567 
1,659 
613 
1,164 
688 
2,082 
1,332 
1,950 
1,797 
1,024 

325 
65 
105 

Amateur  

Annie  C.Moore  
Annie  F.  Paint  
Arietis  

730 
191 

812 
575 

1,121 
680 

135 
426 

Aurora  

22 
28 

i 

11 

14 

2 

108 
230 

186 
608 
93 
96 

527 
838 
1C9 
641 

Beatrice  (Shanghai).. 
Beatrice  (Vancouver) 

801 
881 

110 

C  D  Kaiid        .  .     .. 

7 
26 
19 
17 
19 
2! 
7 
27 

5 
6 

16 

Q 

8         143 

182 
176 

459 
449 

Carlotta  G.  Cox  
Casco      

920 
1,308 
370 
872 

22 
351 
243 
292 
71 

6 

City  San  Diego  
Diana  

5 

6 

Director  

7 

317 
766 
125 
947 
927 
460 

300 
813 
251 
782 
720 
316 

Dora  Siewerd  

36 

2 

g 

18 

503 

E  B  Marvin 

949 

10 

30 
36 

28 

2 
1 
1 

15         221 
18         150 
14  i       248 

Fawn  ... 

1  Annual  Report  Department  Marine  and  Fisheries,  Canadian  Government,  1895. 


218 


THE    PUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS 

Fur-seal  catch  of  Canadian  resteh  for  189~> — Continued. 


Vessel. 

Tons. 

Crew. 

3 

§ 

M 

Caii  oes. 

Catch. 

H 

V 

2 
F 

4 
j 

•TS 

8 

British  Colum- 
bia coast. 

1 
o 

ce 

I 

Vicinity  of  Cop- 
per Island. 

Berin 

3 

"3 

M 

gSea. 

B 

"3 

1 
to 

Fisher  Maid  

21 
99 
97 
92 
31 
58 
81 
18 
25 
92 
63 
43 
40 
97 
58 
73 
46 
23 
83 
82 
86 
19 
69 
66 
39 
56 
108 
31 
38 
16 
21 
63 
98 
99 
60 
63 
92 
76 
25 

l 
8 
18 
29 
7 
6 
7 
3 

A 

10 

18 

a 

7 
24 
8 
2 
23 
9 
8 

""5" 

24 

12 
41 

•"2 

5 

6 
20 

109 
285 

109 
1,443 
219 
1,607 
201 
854 
850 
15 
310 
1,701 
1,316 
803 
1,304 
1,079 
1,347 
1,866 
659 
39 
1,618 
1,314 
1,111 
66 
770 
1,635 
627 
1,288 
1,975 
716 
958 
124 
148 
969 
2,210 
1,749 
1,317 
1,354 
968 
1,357 
356 
3,787 

Florence  M.  Smith  .  .  . 

563 

594 

219 
1,137 

9 

470 

8 
21 
21 
8 
11 
21 
20 

ie 

32 

28 

2 
2 
2 

4 
10 
11 

4 

45 

279 
288 

156 
394 
403 

Kate              

181 
159 
15 

Katherine  

Labrador  

...... 

5 
5 
2 
2 
2 
7 

6 
11 
10 

...... 

16 
13 

51 
234 

76 
451 
106 

183 
1.016 
356 

Mary  Ellen       

854 

Mary  Taylor  

369 

434 

168 

787 

126 
750 
437 

223 
642 
676 

287 
234 

May  Belle  

Mermaid  

1,113 

753 

Minnie  

18 
16 

3 

7 

9 
6 

266 

393 

39 

1,056 

562 

Oscar  and  Hattie  
Otto             

24 
32 
14 
24 

3 
"Y 

12 

14 
7 
12 

147 
285 
66 

652 
432 

515 
364 

30 

Pachwellis          

238 

532 

845 
627 
798 

790 

Rosie  Olsen  

Sadie  Turpel.  

19 
8 
5 
6 
10 
4 
8 
8 
25 
19 
7 
23 
9 
2 

6 

470 

37 
20 
21 

"io 

17 
43 

3 
2 

1 

1 

o 

7 

19 
10 
10 

9 
19 

192 
147 
257 
124 

827 
318 
269 

956 
25) 
432 

San  Jose  

Saucy  Lass  

Shelby  

South  Bond 

37 
835 
862 

111 
532 
995 

Teresa  

102 
353 

Triumph  

Urbrina  



1,187 
853 

.     . 
50'J 
15 

Vera       ... 

6 

177 
601 

272 
566 

25 

2       12 

187 

Viva 

601 

367. 

Walter  L.  Rich  

24 
10 

2       12 
1         5 

i45 

678 
259 

534 

97 



Indian  canoes  catch  . 
Total  

3,787 
9,853 

3,892 

705 

854 

210 

421 

18,687     6,281      15,94!) 

19.969 

70,  739 

PELAGIC    SEALING. 


219 


Fur-seal  catch  for  1896.1 
AMERICAN   VESSELS. 


1  Statistical  tables,  fur-seal  catch,  Document  No.  1932,  Treasury  Department,  1897. 
CANADIAN  VESSELS.1 


Vessel. 

Commander  seal 
herd. 

Pribilof  seal  herd. 

Total. 

Japan       Russian 
coast.         coast. 

North- 
west 
coast. 

Bering 
Sea. 

Ada  

723 
282 
139 
411 

723 
827 
567 
1,118 
109 
1,519 
1,040 
1,472 
437 
913 
455 
632 
569 
1,456 
1,072 
1,010 
613 
1,092 
1,076 
1,109 
1,203 
662 
1,087 
1,873 
1,043 
63 
873 
708 
950 
1,033 
522 
215 
100 
399 
1,095 
536 

Agues  McDonald  

545 

Aiiioko  

428 

Allie  J.  Algar  

659 

48 

109 
431 

Annie  C.  Moore  

1,088 
225 
438 
77 
532 
92 
305 
569 
234 
903 

Annie  E.  Paint  

815 
1,034 

Arietis  

360 

Beatrice  (Shanghai)  

381 
363 

Borealis    .... 

327 

C.  D.  Rand  

Carlotta  Gr.  Cox       .          .          .                      

1,222 

Carrie  C.  W  ...               

169 

808 

202 

City  of  San  Diego  

213 

400 

997 

1  076 

95 

502 
377 

607 
826 
662 
251 
1,049 
614 

Doris  

E.  B.  Marvin  .          ...                    .   .          

836 

Favorite  

824 
429 
63 

Fawn  

602 
537 
499 
663 

271 

Fortuna 

171 
451 



Ida  Etta      

370 
318 

Kate  .                                         

204 

Katharine  (foundered,  208  skins  lost)  

215 

100 
91 
502 

Labrador  

308 
593 
536 

Libbie  

Mary  Ellen                          <                 . 

I 

1  Thompson  Report,  1896,  pp.  06-37. 


220 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PKIUILOF    ISLANDS. 


Fur-seal  catch  fur  189il — Coutiimed. 
CANADIAN  V  ESSELS— Continued. 


Commander  seal      T>  -i  -i  <• 
jjg,.^                  Pribilof  seal  herd. 

Total. 

Vessel. 
Japan       Russian 
coast.         coast. 

N£g-       *•""« 
coast,     i      Sea' 

Mary  Taylor  383 

137 
417 
602 
345 
484 
316 
589 
501 
602 
200 

520 
009 
002 
1.285 
970 
900 
942 
1.220 
002 
200 
152 
1,352 
1,268 
863 
1,420 
835 
1,026 
185 
429 
714 
1,376 
1,081 
711 
'830 
1.  005 
677 
492 
821 
2,353 

Mascot  :...                                     192 

MaudS  ; 

Mermaid  940 

Minnie  

486 

(  )ceau  Belle  584 

Oscar  and  Hattie  

353 

Otto  '           719 

Ocean  Rover  

Osprey  .  .  . 

Pachwellis  

152 
458 

Penelope  

894 
375 
281 
1,002 
605 
555 
185 
359 
483 
750 
298 
442 
264 
901 
70 
399 
821 

Pioneer  893 

Sadie  Turpel  582 

Sapphire  

418 
230 
471 

San  Jose  (wrecked,  4  skins  lost)  

Saucy  Lass  

Sehna  .  .   . 

South  Bend  

70 

Teresa  231 

Triumph  .                                                               606                20 

Uinbriua  :  742                41 

Venture  

269 

Vera  572  ' 

Victoria  ' 

164 

Viva  (seized)  607 

Walter  L.  Rich  

93 

Zillah  May  

Indian  canoes  !                                            2  353 

Sixty-eight  vessels  18  246           1  028 

10,  703 

25,700 

55,  677 

SUMMARY  OF  CANADIAN  VESSELS. 

Japan  coast 18,  246 

Russian  coast 1, 028 


Commander  seal  herd 19,  274 

N  orth west  coast 10,  703 

Bering  Sea . .  25,  700 


Pribilof  seal  herd 36,  403 

REC  APITUL  ATION. 

Canadian  vessels 55,  677 

American  vessels 12,  432 


Total '68,109 

Pelagic  fur-seal  catch  of  American  vessels,  1897. 


Vessel. 

Northwest 
coast. 

IJeriug 
Sea. 

Russian       ,,,   ,    . 
roast.          JotaL 

Fisher  Bros  

3 
326 
323 
284 
56 
88 
30 
389 
55 
10 
193 
1 

3 

2  320 

J.  Eppinger  

443 

:q  085 

a  729 

Jas.  G.  Swan  

56 

Columbia  

88 

Deeahks  

30 

W.  Ainsworth  

389 

Bering  Sea  

55 

Teaser  

10 

Rattler  

193 

Elsie  

215 

199 

014             838 
G(51              860 

St.  Lawrence  

Total  

1,758 

857 

1,275         4,648 

side. 


1  In  addition  to  this  total  for  the  year  1896  there  was  a  catch  of  2,623  skins  made  by  Japanese  vessels  on  the  Asiatic 

2 There  was  a  difference  of  6  in  the  catch  of  this  vessel  between  the  statement  of  the  master  and  inspector  at 
Astoria. 

3  The  Eppinger  took  319  skins,  all  females,  south  of  the  award  area,  and  the  Louisa  I),  took  445,  47  males  and  398 
females,  in  the  same  waters. 


PELAGIC    SEALING. 
1'ehujic  fur-seal  catch  of  Canadian  rcsseln,  1897. 


221 


Total 


6, 100  i      15.  607 


WsSfl. 

Northwest 
coast. 

Bering 
sea. 

Russian 
coast. 

Total. 

602 
302 
290 
610 
167 
20 
38 
158 
53 

13 

263 

878 
302 
290 
640 
1,064 
20 
553 
737 
848 
776 
944 
1,250 
491 
1,331 
1.339 
996 
463 
1,760 
959 
553 
1,021 
822 
899 
98 
827 
1,298 
626 
1,008 
1,123 
1,438 
540 
1,052 
1,064 
25 
489 
804 
27 
12 
24 
1,018 

C  D  Rand          .                 ...               

Alice  I  Algar  

897 



515 
579 
795 
776 
565 
973 
440 
924 
1,254 
895 
402 
1,551 
792 
553 
828 
703 
252 

379 
277 
51 
407 
85 
101 
61 
209 
167 

E  Yi  Marvin                                 .           .         

Otto         .-                          

193 
119 

Sadie  Turpel  

647 

98 
164 

71 

Zillah  Mav                                            

663 
393 
'     312 
190 

834 
314 
818 
972 
1.266 
276 
1,048 
1,050 

Korealis 

151 
172 

264 

4 
14 
25 



4S9 
726 

78 

27 
12 
24 
1,018 

8, 703       30,  409 


SUMMARY  OF  PELAGIC  FUR-SEAL  CATCH,  1897. 

American  vessels 4, 648 

Canadian  vessels 30, 409 


Total '35,057 


1  In  addition  to  this  a  catch  of  3,823  skins  was  taken  by  Japanese  vessels  on  the  Russian  coast. 


222 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 


1 

O  GC  OO  QCi  00  00  OO  OO  00  00  00  QO  OD  OO  OD  OO  OD  00  00  OQ  3D  OD  00  OC  00              OC 

^  — 

3 

OC 

--^-^> 

8 

oc 

00                          00 

o 
05" 

CO 

,  ' 

pat  'oft«fa  \- 

'Ut?DtJ9lUY  'I^JO  I" 

iHiHiiiiiiiiifSiiiiiiii 

i.O 

si 

5 

CO 

• 

CO 

35 

•<*  co    ci  >i  oo  •**  oo 

INinj  !Ni     -*"=>"  CO' 

S        3      " 

"»s*'             >*ssss3ssss?sp 

'OI^BIS  Y 

JO     U.V  0  I  J9UIY 

•      OIN      •      'OCCMOOOCOOO      •      •           •      • 

J 

'qo^uj 
i  t?  ^  o  i     'OI^BIS  Y 

.laff  £»8lM3  A  -B- 

:  :  s 

t-  •*    M 

£S  2 

Iggg 

o 

00 
CO 

CO 
:o 

:§ 

•CO 

r- 

n  CO 

CO 

CM  31       rH 

n  00  CO 

8§ 

Russian  coaat. 

•8(9883^ 

in 

t- 

O  CO 

S  t-' 

X 

§ 

- 

CO  -1 
CD  00 

S    CO 

cc 

f-^o    S 

11  —  I     Cl 

i  i 

j  i  1  1  1  i  i  i  i  i  i  i  j  i  *i  j  j  i  i  1  1  j  i  i  j  a  i 

3 

~o 

H 

§ 

83 

«y 

~2 

H 

g 

-  d 
O  a 

"3 

"o 
H 

CO 

OC  -*     ^1          .      . 

..  Total.. 

apan  coast. 

oco 

CO 

g 

CO 

o 

•^i  CO 
0000 

CM  05 

in  in 

CO  CO 

"g" 

O  00 
CO  CO 

n  00 

§5  S 

i 

35 
35 

CO 

CO 

CM     CO 

-i 

i 

Award  -, 
area.* 

'*nm"K 

jjj  ;jjjjjj  J  UJ  ;  :  UJJJJ  ;JJ  ^ 

1 

o 
H 

00 

g  a 

1 

a  s 

<)0 
m  i— 

1 

s 

SB    -S 
cs      O 

-^O   H 

si  S 

sji 

in  to 

CO  t- 

"o 
H 

CO 

a" 

^^cctoin.no^ino^cccoointocsgcooogogco     ^ 

d 

CO 

CO  00 
CM  CO 

g  S 

s 

o  m 

Fs1 

s 

t-CO      CO 

CMil 
CM 

Bering  Sea. 



J 

co  m 
—   w 

t~  in 

-  « 

a7  *     :  : 

i 

•[9889  A 
J9d  9SBJ9AY 

i 

m  O5 

t~ 

•*  00 

t- 

—  *  t-     -^f       00  IO 
CO  ^     "^       C^  CO 

•S[9889A 

-O         O31Ot-Olt-»in^ 

.....      ;;;;;;         ;  "*    N  10  m  •*  **  *  "*  "?    PT> 

...............               "  =  2  2  S  2  g     gg 

O  i- 
CO  CM 

rt  1* 

3  S 

SSl 

00 

~ 

is 

oo~in" 
85 

00  11 

a  s 

§ 

S8'§ 

oo  t-    in 

^-  in    co 

c  s  -2 

!$ 

com 

M 

s  a 

i 

co" 

3 

Northwest  coast. 

•891BIU9J 
,}O  IU9D   J9J 

•J9889A 

00 
X 

CO  CM 

00  CO 
Ol  O 
CO  t— 

§ 

o 

35  CO 
IN  00 

H 
1 

CM  o    m       i    • 

CM  CO     C1       i-l  -1 
t-  I-  '  •*       t~  O 

2 

s  s 

a 

Tl  35 

^ 

coo    ••» 

^     rt 

n  CO 

.9I9"99A 

'TH»H    >^icMtocMineo^iin^t^ciX'--«ncM     om 

CO' 

3 

N» 

OJ  CO 

S  S 

IN 

in 

« 

-  a   -£5 

CM  IN 

i—  1  CO 

"3 

1 

s 

_H 

%—  V- 

i 

00 

c 
r- 

•  —  ^ 

IC5 

_c 

_C 

-    a 


^£L£/ 

NOTES    ON    PELAGIC    CATCH.  223 

PELAGIC  SEAL  CATCHES,  1868  TO  1807. 

AUTHORITIES   FOH  FIGUKKS   USED   IX  FOREGOING   TABLE. 
[In  quoting  from  Fur-Seal  Arbitration  Papers  the  first  edition  is  always  referred  to.J 

1  Fur-seal  Arbitration.     App.  to  U.  S.  Case,  vol.  1,  p.  591. 

2  Catches  for  years   1S68  to  1879,  inclusive,  is  made  up  of  Northwest   coast  catches  (Fur-Seal 
Arbitration;  British  Commissioners'    Report,    p.    207    et     seq.);    Indian     canoe     catches      (British 
Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  207,  208),  and  skins  obtained  through  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's  trading 
stations  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  213). 

3 Catches  of  pelagic  sealers  and  Indian  canoes  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  207,  208),  and 
returns  from  Hudson  Bay  Company's  posts  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  213). 

4 San  Francisco  custom-house  records:  Deputy  Collector  Jerome's  letters  of  February  26  et  seq., 
1892,  on  file  in  Treasury  Department. 

5  Catch  of  schooner  City  of  San  Diego  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  208). 

6  Catches  of  pelagic  sealers  in  North  Pacific  and  Bering  Sea  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  p. 
209),  and  returns  from  Hudson  Bay  Company's  posts  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  p.  213). 

'  Catches  in  North  Pacific  from  all  sources  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  210,  213). 

8  Marketed  catches  from  Bering  Sea  (British  Commissioners' Report,  p.  210)  plus 2,000  skins  seized 
on  schooners  Onward,  Thornton,  Carolina,  and  San  Diego  (H.  H.  Mclutyre's  manuscript  report  to  Alaska 
Commercial  Company,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  possession  of  Department). 

9  British  commissioner's  estimated  catch  of  American  vessels  in  all  localities  (British  Commissioners' 
Report,  p.  212). 

10  North  Pacific  catches  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  210,  213). 

11  Marketed  catches  from   Bering  Sea   (British   Commissioners'   Report,  p.   210)  plus  8,910  skins 
seized  in  Bering   Sea  and  unaccounted  for  by  British  commissioners;  11,901  skins  were  seized  that 
year  (United  States  Counter  Case,  p.  337),  and  the  British  commissioners,  on  page  210  of  their  report, 
account  for  2,991  of  them. 

12  North  Pacific  catches  (British  Commissioners' Report,  pp.  211,213). 

13  Bering  Sea  catches  (British Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  211,  212). 

H  North  Pacific  catches  (British  Commissioners'  Report,  pp.  211,213). 

'"This  figure,  27,450,  is  the  sum  of  the  figures  22,530  and  4,920,  the  origin  of  which  will  be  found 
under  note  16.  The  British  commissioners,  on  page  18  of  their  report,  give  the  approximate  total  catch 
as  68,000. 

:filn  a  letter  from  the  British  foreign  office  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  May  17,  1895,  the 
Bering  Sea  catch  of  British  vessels  for  1891  is  quoted  at  29,146.  It  has  been  found  by  this  Department 
that  these  figures  represent  the  total  catch  in  Bering  Sea— that  is,  including  seals  killed  off  the  western 
side,  in  Russian  waters,  as  well  as  off  the  eastern  side,  which  afterwards  became  the  award  area.  This 
is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  it  appears  by  the  British  case  before  the  tribunal  at  Paris  that  41  vessels 
were  warned  out  of  the  American  side  of  Bering  Sea  between  June  29  and  August  15,  1891,  under  Ilie 
modus  vivendi  of  June  15  of  that  year.  It  is  certain  that  many  of  these  vessels  crossed  over  to  the 
Russian  side  of  Bering  Sea  and  continued  sealing  until  the  close  of  the  season. 

Statistics  made  by  Mr.  Alfred  Fraser,  now  in  possession  of  the  Treasury  Department,  show  that 
8,432  skins  were  thus  taken  on  the  western  side  of  Bering  Sea  in  Russian  waters.  Of  these,  6,616  were 
taken  by  British  vessels  and  1,816  by  American  vessels.  We  should,  therefore,  deduct  from  the  British 
figures  (29,146)  the  sum  of  6,616,  leaving  22,530  as  the  British  catch  in  the  award  area — that  is,  the 
eastern  side  of  Bering  Sea — for  the  year  1891. 

It  furtliar  appears  from  Mr.  Fraser's  figures  that  the  American  catch  in  Bering  Sea  in  1891  was 
6,736,  of  which  1,816  were  taken  in  Russian  waters  and  4,920  in  the  award  area.  Adding  to  the 
corrected  British  catch,  22,530,  the  catch  of  the  American  vessels,  4,920,  wo  have  27,450  as  the  total 
catch  of  British  and  American  vessels  in  that  part  of  Bering  Sea  known  as  the  award  area  for  the 
year  1891. 

In  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  to  accompany  H.  R.  8909,  Fifty- third  Congress 
third  session,  Report  No.  1849,  the  catch  in  Bering  Sea  for  the  year  1891  was  given  as  23,041,  on  the 
authority  of  the  Treasury  Department.  These  figures  included  only  the  returns  of  British  vessels,  as 
no  reliable  returns  as  to  American  vessels  were  then  in  the  possession  of  the  Department.  The  result 
was  reached  by  deducting  from  the  estimate  given  by  Consul  Meyers  in  his  report  (United  States 
counter  case),  28,605,  a  number  of  skins  estimated  to  have  been  taken  off  the  Russian  coast.  This 


224        -  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

estimate  was  reached  by  a  careful  examination  of  all  catches  referred  to  in  the  affidavits  and  other 
papers  in  the  case  and  counter  case  of  the  United  States  aud  Great  Britain,  excluding  those  which 
were  claimed  to  have  been  taken  oft'  the  Russian  coast. 

That  the  British  returns  (above  cited),  29,146,  include  seals  taken  on  the  western  side  of  Bering 
Sea,  from  the  Russian  herd,  will  appear,  as  above  stated,  from  the  fact  of  the  warning  of  said  vessels, 
under  the  modus  vivendi,  aud  their  subsequent  crossing  to  the  Russian  coast. 

The  report  of  the  minister  of  marine  and  fisheries  of  Canada  for  1891  credits  none  of  the  catch 
to  Russian  waters.  lu  1892,  however,  said  report  credits  14,805  skins  out  of  a  total  of  53,912  from 
said  Asiatic  shores.  The  fact  that  this  large  catch  was  made  in  1892  points  strongly  to  similar  catches 
in  the  year  1891,  which  are  confirmed  by  the  above-mentioned  evidence. 

17  Obtained  by  subtracting  the  total  of  27,450  and  8,432  from  68,000. 

18  See  United  States  counter  case,  page  408. 

19 Taken  from  Alfred  Fraser's  estimates  for  American  sealing  fleet  in  Asiatic  waters.  Skins 
entered  in  United  States  ports. 

-°The  smallness  of  the  number,  2,199,  suggests  that  either  many  of  the  vessels  after  clearing 
sailed  directly  for  the  Japan  coast,  or  else  the  catches  off  the  Northwest  coast  were  transshipped  at 
Japan  ports. 

21  The  American  catch  for  1893  is  based  upon  statistics  compiled  by  A.  Fraser  and  on  file  in  the 
Treasury  Department.  The  United  States  consul  at  A'ictoria  states  (Consular  Reports  No.  161,  p.  279) 
that  American  schooners  in  1893  transshipped  at  Yokohama  and  Hakodate  between  17,000  and  18,000 
skins.  This  is  further  confirmed  by  the  report  of  the  Canadian  department  of  marine  and  fisheries 
for  1893,  page  clxviii,  which  gives  the  catch  of  American  vessels  landed  at  Hakodate  as  18,587. 

32  The  figures  for  the  catches  of  Canadian  vessels  are  taken  from  the  report  of  the  Canadian 
department  of  marine  and  fisheries  for  1893,  page  clxvii. 

23 The  London  trade  sales  for  1893  account  for  the  disposition  of  109,669  pelagic  skins. 

24 Compiled  from  the  reports  of  collectors  at  ports  of  entry  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  These  reports 
are  on  file  in  the  Treasury  Department. 

25 The  figure  23,710  is  obtained  by  taking  the  6,836  skins  noted  under  the  caption  "Locality 
undetermined"  in  the  letter  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  Congress  dated  January  21,  1895 
(Fifty-third  Congress,  third  session,  Ex.  Doc.,  243),  and  dividing  them  between  the  Asiatic  and 
American  herds  in  similar  proportions  as  the  other  skins  landed  at  United  States  ports  in  United 
States  sealing  vessels  during  1894.  The  result  would  be:  American  herd.  6,152;  Asiatic,  684.  Adding 
6,152  to  the  catch  on  the  Northwest  coast  (12.398)  already  given  aud  the  Bering  Sea  catch  (5,160) 
already  given,  we  have  the  total  23,710. 

2fiMade  up  of  skins  as  per  records  of  collectors  of  customs  on  the  Pacific  coast,  which  credit  1,500 
to  Asiatic  waters;  684  skins,  previously  referred  to  in  note  25,  and  the  20,000  sftins  which  it  is 
estimated  were  transshipped  in  Japan  (Ex.  Doc.  243,  Fifty-third  Congress,  third  session.  "Notes 
concerning  catch  for  1894,"  p.  4). 

"Taken  from  report  of  Canadian  department  of  marine  and  fisheries  for  1894,  page  9. 

The  figures  26,425  include  one  American  vessel,  whose  catch  was  84  skins. 

The  figures  49,  843  contain  the  catches  of  three  American  vessels,  which  aggregated  490  skins. 

The  facts  in  the  two  foregoing  paragraphs  are  given  in  a  report  of  Fisheries  Commissioner 
Costigan  to  the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  under  date  of  January  9,  1895,  page  9. 

"*  Reports  of  collectors  of  customs  at  American  ports  of  entry  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

29  Official  statement  sent  by  United  States  Consul  Roberts,  at  Victoria,  under  date  of  November 
15,  1895,  and  on  file  in  the  Treasury  Department. 

30  The  pelagic  catch  for  1895  is  further  increased  by.  a  catch  of  about  10,000  skins  taken  by 
vessels  clearing  from  Japanese  ports. 

31  From  returns  of  United  States  inspectors  who  examined  skins  lauded  in  United  States  ports. 

32 From  official  returns  of  collector  of  customs,  Victoria,  British  Columbia.     Skins  not  inspected. 

33 In  averages  per  vessel  relating  to  Northwest  coast  catch,  the  canoe  catches  arc  not  included. 
British  Columbia  canoe  catch,  2,353,  included  in  Canadian  Northwest  coast  total. 

34  Total  catch  of  American  and  Canadian  vessels  for  1896  further  increased  by  a  catch  of  3,392 
skins  taken  by  vessels  clearing  from  Japanese  ports,  and  of  1,497  skins  taken  by  natives  in  the  passes 
of  the  Aleutian  Islands. 

35 All  log  entries  relating  to  American  pelagic  catch  sworn  to  by  masters  of  vessels,  but  most  of 
them  changed  as  to  proportion  of  females  upon  examination  of  catches  by  inspectors  of  seal  skins. 


PERCENTAGE    OF    FEMALES. 


225 


^Proportion  of  females  in  all  Canadian  returns  taken  from  statements  by  masters  of  vessels. 
Catches  not  officially  inspected  as  to  sex. 

37  Data  concerning  catches  of  American  vessels  in  all  waters  for  1896  are  based  on  reports  from 
United  States  custom-houses,  supplemented  by  information  collected  by  Mr.  C.  H.  Townsend;  data 
concerning  catches  of  British  Columbia  vessels,  furnished  by  the  Canadian  collector  of  customs  at 
Victoria;  catches  in  1895  of  vessels  belonging  to  Japanese  ports,  furnished  by  United  States  consular 
officers  in  Japan.  Catches  of  similar  vessels  in  1896  are  from  unofficial  sources,  are  incomplete,  and 
less  than  number  actually  taken. 

3"Total  catch  of  American  vessels  is  increased  by  the  catch  of  224  skins  taken  by  the  Prosper  off 
the  Galapagos  Islands  and  by  319  skins  taken  by  the  Eppinger,  aud  445  taken  by  the  Louisa  D,  south 
of  the  award  area. 

Total  sealing  vessels  in  award  area. 


1893. 


1894. 


1895. 


1896. 


American 29  30        !        32  18 

Canadian 35  32  49  59 

Total 64  62  81        I  77 

Total  sealing  vessels  in  Asiatic  ivaters. 

American <*31  35  17 

Canadian 38  36  25  28 

Japanese 10  9 

Total 69  71  52  45 

a  Estimated. 

Total  sealing  vessels  in  Asiatic  and  American  waters. 

.  _  _ 

American 28  35  35  -'1 

I ! 

Canadian 56  60  62  60 

Japanese 10  9 

Total  . .  84  95  107  90 


Percentage  of  females  in  pelagic  catches  in  1894,  1895,  and  1896. 

NORTHWEST   COAST. 

1894. — American  vessels,1  88  per  cent.  British-  give  no  figures. 
1895. — American  vessels,  74  per  cent.  British  give  no  figures. 
1896. — American  vessels,  93  per  cent.  British  vessels,  40  per  cent. 


1894. — American  vessels,  69  per  cent. 
1895. — American  vessels,  73  per  cent. 
1896. — American  vessels,  75  per  cent. 


ItERING    SEA. 

British  vessels,  55  per  cent. 
British  vessels,  55  per  cent. 
British  vessels,  61  per  cent. 


1  Statistics  for  American  vessels  were  obtained  from  examination  of  the  skins  in  the  customs  house. 
'Statistics  for  British  vessels  were  furnished  by  the  captains.    The  vessels  of  the  two  fleets  were  engaged  side  by 
side  in  the  same  area  and  at  the  same  time. 

15184 15 


226 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIB1LOF    ISLANDS. 


Estimated  value  of  Canadian  vessels  engaged  in  pelagic  sealing  in  all  waters,  season  of  1806,  but  not  1897, 

cleared  from  \  rictoria. ' 


Xame  of  vessel. 

Ton- 
nage. 

First 
cost, 
allow- 
ing 
$75  per 
ton. 

Age. 

Deduc- 
tions 
for  age 
at  5  per 
cent 
per 
annum. 

TS'imi 
ber  of 
boats. 

Esti- 
mated 
value 
of  boats 
at  $50 
each. 

Esti- 
mated 
value 

of  ves- 
sel and 
boats. 

Estimated 
value 
of  canoes.2 

Carrie  C  W  

91.8 
30.58 
37.82 
93 
76 
81 
55 
48.4 
58 
20 
72 
59.79 
90 
21.44 
98.69 
92 
41.21 
41 
69.23 

$6,  885 
2,293 
2,836 
6,975 
5,700 
6,075 
4,125 
3,630 
4,350 
1,500 
5,400 
4,484 
6,750 
1,608 
7,401 
6,900 
3,090 
3,075 
5,192 

9 

40 
5 

20 
13 
1 

35 
16 
15 
62 
17 
4 
•5 
12 

9 
13 

$3,  786 

2,127 
5,928 

2,  120 
3,919 
907 

300 
1,350 
4,035 
1,012 
1,286 
5,550 
2,760 
2,  317 
1,091 
1,817 

3 
2 
2 

•i 

I 

2 
2 
3 
2 
2 
1 
9 
8 
2 
5 
7 

$150 
100 
100 
150 
550 
150 
100 
150 
100 
100 
150 
100 
100 
50 
450 
400 
100 
250 
350 

$3,  936 
329 
2,227 
6,070 
1,120 
2,276 
4,019 
1,057 
535 
400 
1,  500 
4,  135 
1,112 
1,336 
6,000 
3,  160 
2,417 
1,941 
2,167 

$45,  737 
$2,400 

15 
8 
11 
14 

13 
9 

8 
12 

13 
14 
11 

8 
3 

$375 
200 
275 
350 

325 
225 
200 
300 
125 
325 
350 
27b 
125 

200 
75 

San  Jose  

Saucy  Lass.  

Walter  L  Rich 

Oscar  and  Hattie  

Ventura  

South  Bend  

Dolphin          

Doris               

Ada  

Florence  M.  Smith  .  .  . 
Viva                 

Mascot  

Aurora  

Ida  Etta  

Total,  19  vessels 
Average  per  vessel  (a] 

•proxinu 

itely)  

1  Prepared  by  Capt.  Calvin  L.  Hooper,  R.  C.  S.,  commanding  Bering  Sea  patrol  fleet. 
2  Canoe  values  estimated  separately. 

8  Vessels  18  years  of  age  or  over  are  estimated  at  10  per  cent  of  their  original  cost. 
*  Not i  known. 
8  Estimates. 

NOTE. — Repairs  made  to  any  of  these  vessels  would  increase  the  value  proportionately,  and  would  be  subject  to  the 
5  per  cent  deduction  for  age  the  same  as  the  hull. 

Sales  of  Cape  Norn1  salted  fur-seal  skins. 

NOTE. — These  figures  show  the  comparatively  insignificant  yield  of  these  southern  rookeries  as  compared  with  those 
of  Bering  Sea. 


Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

1876 

6,306 

1882 

11,711 

1888 

4,403 

1894 

62 

1877 

7,631 

1883 

4,655 

1889 

3,021 

1895 

1,888 

1878 

8,227 

1884 

6,743 

1890 

2,450 

1896 

2,510 

1879 

12,  180 

1885 

3,404  !           1891 

3,114 

1897 

1,265 

1880 

17,  562 

1886 

909 

1892 

6,292 

1881 

13,164 

1887 

2,762 

1893 

2,131 

1  The  skins  taken  off  Cape  Horn  not  under  any  government  contract. 
Salted  Lobos  Island  '  fur  seals  sold  in  London. 


Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

Year. 

Skins. 

1873 

6,956 

1880 

14,  836 

1887 

11,  068 

1894 

12,  145 

1874 

8,509 

1881 

13,  569 

1888         20,747              1895 

12,017 

1875 

8,  179             1882 

13,200 

1889           8,755 

1896 

14,  019 

1876 

11,353             1883         12,861 

1890         18,  541 

1897 

12,  791 

1877 

13,  066 

1884         16,  258 

1891         15,  834 

1878 

12,  301 

1885         10,  953 

1892         12,  202 

1879 

12,  295 

1886 

13,  667 

1893 

13,  624 

1  The  skins  taken  by  a  Uruguayan  company  on  the  Lobos  Islands  off  Montevideo. 


APPENDIX   II. 
DOCUMENTS  RELATING-  TO  THE  FUR  SEAL  QUESTION. 


AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  THE  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  THE 
GOVERNMENT  OF  HER  BRITANNIC  MAJESTY  FOR  A  MODUS  VIVENDI  IN  RELA- 
TION TO  THE  FUR-SEAL  FISHERIES  IN  BERING  SEA. 

For  the  purpose  of  avoiding  irritating  differences,  and  with  a  view  to  promote  the 
friendly  settlement  of  the  question  pending  between  the  two  Governments  touching 
their  respective  rights  in  Bering  Sea,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  seal  species,  the 
following  agreement  is  made  without  prejudice  to  the  rights  or  claims  of  either  party: 

(1)  Her  Majesty's  Government  will  prohibit,  until  May  next,  seal  killing  in  that 
part  of  Bering  Sea  lying  eastward  of  the  line  of  demarcation  described  in  Article  No. 
1  of  the  treaty  of  1867  between  the  United  States  and  Russia,  and  will  promptly  use 
its  best  efforts  to  insure  the  observance  of  this  prohibition  by  British  subjects  and 
vessels. 

(2)  The  United  States  Government  will  prohibit  seal  killing  for  the  same  period 
in  the  same  part  of  Bering  Sea  and  on  the  shores  and  islands  thereof,  the  property 
of  the  United  States,  (in  excess  of  7,500  to  be  taken  on  the  islands  for  the  subsistence 
and  care  of  the  natives),  and  will  promptly  use  its  best  efforts  to  insure  the  observance 
of  this  prohibition  by  United  States  citizens  and  vessels. 

(3)  Every  vessel  or  person  offending  against  this  prohibition  in  the  said  waters 
of  Bering  Sea  outside  of  the  ordinary  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States  may 
be  seized  and  detained  by  the  naval  or  other  duly  commissioned  officers  of  either 
of  the  High  Contracting  Parties,  but  they  shall  be  handed  over  as  soon  as  practicable 
to  the  authorities  of  the  nation  to  which  they  respectively  belong,  who  shall  alone 
have  jurisdiction  to  try  the  offense  and  impose  the  penalties  for  the  same.    The 
witnesses  and  proof  necessary  to  establish  the  offense  shall  also  be  sent  with  them. 

(4)  In  order  to  facilitate  such  proper  inquiries  as  Her  Majesty's  Government  may 
desire  to  make,  with  a  view  to  the  presentation  of  the  case  of  that  Government  before 
arbitrators,  and  in  expectation  that  an  agreement   for  arbitration  may  be  arrived 
at,  it  is  agreed  that  suitable  persons  designated  by  Great  Britain  will  be  permitted  at 
any  time,  upon  application,  to  visit  or  to  remain  upon  the  seal  islands  during  the 
present  sealing  season  for  that  purpose. 

Signed  and  sealed  in  duplicate  at  Washington  this  loth  day  of  June,  1891,  on 
behalf  of  their  respective  Governments,  by  William  F.  Whartou,  Acting  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  United  States,  and  Sir  Julian  Pauncefote,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  K.  C.  B., 
H.  B.  M.,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  F.  WHARTON. 

[SEAL.]  JULIAN  PAUNCEFOTE. 

227 


228  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

TREATY    BETWEEN    THE    UNITED    STATES      OF     AMERICA     AND      GREAT     BRITAIN 

CONCLUDED  FEBRUARY  29,  1892. 

The  United  States  of  America  and  Her  Majesty  the  Queeiiofthe  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  being1  desirous  to  provide  for  an  amicable  settlement  of 
the  questions  which  have  arisen  between  their  respective  Governments  concerning 
the  jurisdictioual  rights  of  the  United  States  in  the  waters  of  Bering's  Sea,  and 
concerning  also  the  preservation  of  the  fur-seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,  the  said 
sea,  and  the  rights  of  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  either  country  as  regards  the  taking 
the  fur-seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,  the  said  waters,  have  resolved  to  submit  to 
arbitration  the  questions  involved,  and  to  the  end  of  concluding  a  convention  for  that 
purpose  have  appointed  as  their  respective  Plenipotentiaries  : 

The  President  of  the  United  States  of  America,  James  G.  Blame,  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States ;  and 

Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Sir 
Julian  Pauncefote,  G.  C.  M.  G.,  K.  0.  B.,  Her  Majesty's  Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States ; 

Who,  after  having  communicated  to  each  other  their  respective  full  powers  which 
were  found  to  be  in  due  and  proper  form,  have  agreed  to  and  concluded  the  following 
articles  : 

ARTICLE  I.  The  questions  which  have  arisen  between  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  and  the  Government  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  concerning  the 
jurisdiction al  rights  of  the  United  States,  in  the  waters  oi  Bering  Sea,  and  concerning 
also  the  preservation  of  the  fur-seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,  the  said  sea,  and 
the  rights  of  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  either  country  as  regards  the  taking  of  fur- 
seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,  the  said  waters,  shall  be  submitted  to  a  tribunal  of 
arbitration,  to  be  composed  of  seven  arbitrators,  who  shall  be  appointed  in  the  following 
manner,  that  is  to  say:  Two  shall  be  named  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
two  shall  be  named  by  Her  Britannic  Majesty  ;  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the 
French  Kepublic  shall  be  jointly  requested  by  the  high  contracting  parties  to  name 
one;  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Italy,  shall  be  so  requested  to  name  one;  and  His 
Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  shall  be  requested  to  name  one.  The 
seven  arbitrators  to  be  so  named  shall  be  jurists  of  distinguished  reputation  in 
their  respective  countries;  and  the  selecting  powers  shall  be  requested  to  choose,  if 
possible,  jurists  who  are  acquainted  with  the  English  language. 

In  case  of  death,  absence,  or  incapacity  to  serve  of  any  or  either  of  the  said 
arbitrators,  or  in  the  event  of  any  or  either  of  the  said  arbitrators  omitting  or  declining 
or  ceasing  to  act  as  such,  the  President  of  the  United  States,  or  Her  Britannic  Majesty, 
or  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the  French  Kepublic,  or  His  Majesty  the  King  of 
Italy,  or  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  name, 
or  shall  be  requested  to  name  forthwith  another  person  to  act  as  arbitrator1  in  the  place 
and  stead  of  the  arbitrator  originally  named  by  such  head  of  a  state. 

And  in  the  event  of  a  refusal  or  omission  for  two  mouths  after  receipt  of  the  joint 
request  from  the  High  Contracting  Parties  of  his  Excellency,  the  President  of  the 
French  Kepublic,  or  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Italy,  or  His  Majesty,  the  King  of 
Sweden  and  Norway,  to  name  an  arbitrator,  either  to  till  the  original  appointment  or 
to  fill  a  vacancy  as  above  provided,  then  in  such  case  the  appointment  shall  be  made 
or  the  vacancy  shall  be  filled  in  such  manner  as  the  High  Contracting  Parties  shall 
agree. 


THE  ARBITRATION  TREATY.  229 

ART.  II.  The  arbitrators  shall  meet  at  Paris  within  twenty  days  after  the  delivery 
of  the  counter  cases  mentioned  in  Article  IV,  and  shall  proceed  impartially  and 
carefully  to  examine  and  decide  the  questions  that  have  been  or  shall  be  laid  before 
them  as  herein  provided  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and  Her 
Britannic  Majesty,  respectively.  All  questions  considered  by  the  tribunal,  including 
the  final  decision,  shall  be  determined  by  a  majority  of  all  the  arbitrators. 

Each  of  the  High  Contracting  Parties  shall  also  name  one  person  to  attend  the 
tribunal  as  its  agent  to  represent  it  generally  in  all  matters  connected  with  the 
arbitration. 

ART.  III.  The  printed  case  of  each  of  the  two  parties,  accompanied  by  the 
documents,  the  official  correspondence,  and  other  evidence  upon  which  each  relies, 
shall  be  delivered  in  duplicate  to  each  of  the  arbitrators  and  to  the  agent  of  the  other 
party  as  soon  as  may  be  after  the  appointment  of  the  members  of  the  tribunal,  but 
within  a  period  not  exceeding  four  months  from  the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the 
ratifications  of  this  treaty. 

ART.  IY.  Within  three  months  after  the  delivery  on  both  sides  of  the  printed 
case,  either  party  may,  in  like  manner  deliver  in  duplicate  to  each  of  the  said 
arbitrators,  and  to  the  agent  of  the  other  party,  a  counter  case,  and  additional 
documents,  correspondence,  and  evidence  so  presented  by  the  other  party. 

If,  however,  in  consequence  of  the  distance  of  the  place  from  which  the  evidence 
to  be  presented  is  to  be  procured,  either  party  shall,  within  thirty  days  after  the 
receipt  by  its  agent  of  the  case  of  the  other  party,  give  notice  to  the  other  party  that 
it  requires  additional  time  for  the  delivery  of  such  counter  case,  documents, 
correspondence,  and  evidence,  such  additional  time  so  indicated,  but  not  exceeding 
sixty  days  beyond  the  three  months  in  this  article  provided,  shall  be  allowed. 

If,  in  the  case  submitted  to  the  arbitrators,  either  party  shall  have  specified  or 
alluded  to  any  report  or  document  in  its  own  exclusive  possession,  without  annexing 
a  copy,  such  party  shall  be  bound,  if  the  other  party  thinks  proper  to  apply  for  it, 
to  furnish  that  party  with  a  copy  thereof;  and  either  party  may  call  upon  the  other, 
through  the  arbitrators,  to  produce  the  originals  or  certified  copies  of  any  papers 
adduced  as  evidence,  giving  in  each  instance  notice  thereof  within  thirty  days  after 
delivery  of  the  case ;  and  the  original  or  copy  so  requested  shall  be  delivered  as  soon 
as  may  be,  and  within  a  period  not  exceeding  forty  days  after  receipt  of  notice. 

ART.  V.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  agent  of  each  party,  within  one  month  after 
the  expiration  of  the  time  limited  for  the  delivery  of  the  counter  case  on  both  sides  to 
deliver  in  duplicate  to  each  of  the  said  arbitrators  and  to  the  agent  of  the  other 
party  a  printed  argument  showing  the  points  and  referring  to  the  evidence  upon 
which  his  Government  relies,  and  either  party  may  also  support  the  same  before 
the  arbitrators  by  oral  argument  of  counsel;  and  the  arbitrators  may,  if  they  desire 
further  elucidation  with  regard  to  any  point,  require  a  written  or  printed  statement 
or  argument,  or  oral  argument  of  counsel,  upon  it;  but  in  such  case  the  other  party 
shall  be  entitled  to  reply,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  as  the  case  may  be. 

ART.  VI.  In  deciding  the  matters  submitted  to  the  arbitrators,  it  is  agreed  that 
the  following  five  points  shall  be  submitted  to  them,  in  order  that  their  award  shall 
embrace  a  distinct  decision  upon  each  of  said  five  points,  to  wit : 

1.  What  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  sea  now  known  as  the  Bering  Sea,  and 
what  exclusive  rights  in  the  seal  fisheries  therein,  did  Russia  assert  and  exercise  prior 
and  up  to  the  time  of  the  cession  of  Alaska  to  the  United  States? 


230  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

2.  How  far  were  these  claims  of  jurisdiction  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  recognized 
and  conceded  by  Great  Britain? 

3.  Was  the  body  of  water  now  known  as  the  Bering-  Sea  included  in  the  phrase 
"Pacific  Ocean,"  as  used  in  the  treaty  of  1825  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia; 
and  what  rights,  if  any,  in  the  Bering  Sea  were  held  and  exclusively  exercised  by 
Russia  after  said  treaty? 

4.  Did  all  the  rights  of  Eussia  as  to  jurisdiction,  and  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  in 
Bering  Sea  east  of  the  water  boundary,  in  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia  of  the  30th  March,  1867,  pass  unimpaired  to  the  United  States  under  tbat 
treaty  ! 

5.  Has  the  United  States  any  right,  and  if  so,  what  right  of  protection  or  property 
in  the  fur-seals  frequenting  the  islands  of  the  United  States  in  Bering  Sea,  when  such 
seals  are  found  outside  the  ordinary  3-mile  limit? 

ART.  VII.  If  the  determination  of  the  foregoing  questions  as  to  the  exclusive 
jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  shall  leave  the  subject  in  such  position  that  the 
concurrence  of  Great  Britain  is  necessary  to  the  establishment  of  regulations  for 
the  proper  protection  of  the  fur-seal  in,  or  habitually  resorting  to,  the  Bering  Sea, 
the  arbitrators  shall  then  determine  what  concurrent  regulations  outside  the  jurisdic- 
tioual  limits  of  the  respective  Governments  are  necessary,  and  over  what  waters  such 
regulations  should  extend,  and  to  aid  them  in  that  determination,  the  report  of  a 
Joint  Commission  to  be  appointed  by  the  respective  Governments  shall  be  laid  before 
them,  with  such  other  evidence  as  either  Government  may  submit. 

The  High  Contracting  Parties  furthermore  agree  to  co  operate  in  securing  the 
adhesion  of  other  Powers  to  such  regulations. 

ART.  VIII.  The  High  Contracting  Parties  having  found  themselves  unable  to 
agree  upon  a  reference  which  shall  include  the  question  of  the  liability  of  each  for  the 
injuries  alleged  to  have  been  sustained  by  the  other,  or  by  its  citizens,  in  connection 
with  the  claims  presented  and  urged  by  it;  and  being  solicitous  that  this  subordinate 
question  should  not  interrupt  or  longer  delay  the  submission  and  determination  of  the 
main  questions,  do  agree  that  either  may  submit  to  the  arbitrators  any  questions 
of  fact  involved  in  said  claims  and  ask  for  a  finding  thereon,  the  questions  of  the 
liability  of  either  Government  upon  the  facts  found  to  be  the  subject  of  further 
negotiation. 

ART.  IX.  The  High  Contracting  Parties  have  agreed  to  appoint  two  commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  each  Government  to  make  the  joint  investigation  and  report 
contemplated  in  the  preceding  Article  VII,  and  to  include  the  terms  of  the  said 
agreement  in  the  present  convention,  to  the  end  that  the  joint  and  several  reports  and 
recommendations  of  said  commissioners  may  be  in  due  form  submitted  to  the  arbi- 
trators, should  the  contingency  therefor  arise,  the  said  agreement  is  accordingly 
herein  included  as  follows : 

Each  Government  shall  appoint  two  commissioners  to  investigate  conjointly  with 
the  commissioners  of  the  other  Governments  all  the  facts  having  relation  to  seal  life 
in  Bering  Sea,  and  the  measures  necessary  for  its  proper  protection  and  preservation 

The  four  commissioners  shall,  so  far  as  they  may  be  able  to  agree,  make  a  joint 
report  to  each  of  the  two  Governments,  and  they  shall  also  report,  either  jointly  or 
severally,  to  each  Government  on  any  points  upon  which  they  may  be  unable  to  agree. 


THE    PARIS    AWARD.  231 

These  reports  shall  not  be  made  public  until  they  shall  be  submitted  to  the  arbi- 
trators, or  it  shall  appear  that  the  contingency  of  their  being  used  by  the  arbitrators 
can  not  arise. 

ART.  X.  Each  Government  shall  pay  the  expenses  of  its  members  of  the  joint 
commission  in  the  investigation  referred  to  in  the  preceding  article. 

ART.  XL  The  decision  of  the  tribunal  shall,  if  possible,  be  made  within  three 
months  from  the  close  of  the  argument  on  both  sides. 

It  shall  be  made  in  writing  and  dated,  and  shall  be  signed  by  the  arbitrators  who 
may  assent  to  it. 

The  decision  shall  be  in  duplicate,  one  copy  thereof  shall  be  delivered  to  the  agent 
of  the  United  States  for  his  Government,  and  the  other  copy  shall  be  delivered  to  the 
agent  of  Great  Britain  for  his  Government. 

ART.  XII.  Each  Government  shall  pay  its  own  agents  and  provide  for  the  proper 
remuneration  of  the  counsel  employed  by  it,  and  of  the  arbitrators  appointed  by  it, 
and  for  the  expense  of  preparing  and  submitting  its  case  to  the  tribunal.  All  other 
expenses  connected  with  the  arbitration  shall  be  defrayed  by  the  two  Governments  in 
equal  moieties. 

ART.  XIII.  The  arbitrators  shall  keep  an  accurate  record  of  their  proceedings, 
and  may  appoint  and  employ  the  necessary  officers  to  assist  them. 

ART.  XIV.  The  High  Contracting  Parties  engaged  to  consider  the  result  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  tribunal  of  arbitration,  as  a  full,  perfect,  and  final  settlement  of  all 
the  questions  referred  to  the  arbitrators. 

ART.  XV.  The  present  treaty  shall  be  duly  ratified  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  thereof,  and  by 
Her  Britannic  Majesty  5  and  the  ratification  shall  be  exchanged  either  at  Washington 
or  at  London  within  six  months  from  the  date  hereof,  or  earlier  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof  we,  the  respective  Plenipotentiaries,  have  signed  this  treaty  and 
have  hereunto  affixed  our  seals. 

Done  in  duplicate  at  Washington  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  February,  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  ninety-two. 

[SEAL.]  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

[SEAL.!  JULIAN  PAUNCEFOTE. 


AWARD  OF  THE  TRIBUNAL  OF  ARBITRATION  CONSTITUTED  UNDER  THE  TREATY 
CONCLUDE®  AT  WASHINGTON  THE  29TR  OF  FEBRUARY,  1892,  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  OF  AMERICA  AND  HER  MAJESTY  THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM 
OF  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND. 

[English  version.] 

Whereas  by  a  treaty  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  Great  Britain, 
signed  at  Washington  February  29, 1892,  the  ratifications  of  which  by  the  Governments 
of  the  two  countries  were  exchanged  at  London  on  May  7,  1892,  it  was,  amongst  other 
things,  agreed  and  concluded  that  the  questions  which  had  arisen  between  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  Government  of  Her  Britannic 
Majesty,  concerning  the  jurisdictional  rights  of  the  United  States  in  the  waters  of 
Bering  Sea,  and  concerning  also  the  preservation  of  the  fur  seal  in  or  habitually 


232  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIHILOF    ISLANDS. 

resorting  to  the  said  sea,  aucl  the  rights  of  the  citizens  and  subjects  of  either  country 
as  regards  the  taking  of  fur  seals  in  or  habitually  resorting  to  the  said  waters,  should 
be  submitted  to  a  tribunal  of  arbitration  to  be  composed  of  seven  arbitrators,  who 
should  be  appointed  in  the  following  manner,  that  is  to  say:  Two  should  be  named  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States;  two  should  be  named  by  Her  Britannic  Majesty; 
His  Excellency  the  President  of  the  French  Kepublic  should  be  jointly  requested  by 
the  high  contracting  parties  to  name  one;  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Italy  should  be  so 
requested  to  name  one;  His  Majesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Xorway  should  be  so 
requested  to  name  one;  the  seven  arbitrators  to  be  so  named  should  be  jurists  of 
distinguished  reputation  in  their  respective  countries,  and  the  selecting  powers  should 
be  requested  to  choose,  if  possible,  jurists  who  are  acquainted  with  the  English 
language; 

And  whereas  it  was  further  agreed  by  Article  II  of  the  said  treaty  that  the 
arbitrators  should  meet  at  Paris  within  twenty  days  after  the  delivery  of  the  counter 
cases  mentioned  in  Article  IV,  and  should  proceed  impartially  and  carefully  to 
examine  and  decide  the  questions  which  had  been  or  should  be  laid  before  them  as  in 
the  said  treaty  provided  on  the  part  of  the  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  of 
Her  Britannic  Majesty,  respectively,  and  that  all  questions  considered  by  the  tribunal, 
including  the  final  decision,  should  be  determined  by  a  majority  of  all  the  arbitrators; 

And  whereas  by  Article  VI  of  the  said  treaty  it  was  further  provided  as  follows: 

In  deciding  the  matters  submitted  to  the  said  arbitrators,  it  is  agreed  that  the  following  five 
points  shall  be  submitted  to  them  in  order  that  their  award  shall  embrace  a  distinct  decision  upon 
each  of  said  five  points,  to  wit: 

1.  What  exclusive  jurisdiction  in  the  sea  now  known  as  Bering  Sea,  and  what  exclusive  rights  in 
the  seal  fisheries  therein,  did  Russia  assert  and  exercise  prior  and  up  to  the  time  of  the  cession  of 
Alaska  to  the  United  States? 

2.  How  far  were  these  claims  of  jurisdiction  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  recognized  and  conceded  by 
Great  Britain? 

3.  Was  the  body  of  water  now  known  as  Bering  Sea  included  in  the  phrase  Pacific  Ocean,  as  used 
in  the  treaty  of  1825  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia;  and  what  rights,  if  any,  in  Bering  Sea  were 
held  and  exclusively  exercised  by  Russia  after  said  treaty  f 

4.  Did  not  all  the  rights  of  Russia,  as  to  jurisdiction  and  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  in  Bering  Sea  east 
of  the  water  boundary,  in  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Russia  of  the  30th  of  March,  1867, 
pass  unimpaired  to  the  United  States  under  that  treaty? 

5.  Has  the  United  States  any  right,  and  if  so,  what  right,  of  protection  or  property  in  the  fur 
seals  frequenting  the  islands  of  the  United  States  in  Bering  Sea  when  such  seals  are  found  outside  the 
ordinary  3-mile  limit? 

And  whereas  by  Article  VII  of  the  said  treaty  it  was  further  agreed  as  follows: 

If  the  determination  of  the  foregoing  questions  as  to  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States  shall  leave  the  subject  in  such  position  that  the  concurrence  of  Great  Britain  is  necessary  to 
the  establishment  of  regulations  for  the  proper  protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur  seal  in,  or 
habitually  resorting  to,  Bering  Sea,  the  arbitrators  shall  then  determine  what  concurrent  regulations, 
outside  the  jurisdiction  limits  of  the  respective  Governments,  are  necessary,  and  over  what  waters 
such  regulations  should  extend; 

The  high  contracting  parties  furthermore  agree  to  cooperate  in  securing  the  adhesion  of  other 
powers  to  such  regulations ; 

And  whereas  by  Article  VIII  of  the  said  treaty,  after  reciting  that  the  high 
contracting  parties  had  found  themselves  unable  to  agree  upon  a  reference  which 
should  include  the  question  of  the  liability  of  each  for  the  injuries  alleged  to  have  been 
sustained  by  the  other,  or  by  its  citizens,  in  connection  with  the  claims  presented  and 


THE    PARIS    AWARD.  233 

urged  by  it,  and  that  "  they  were  solicitous  that  this  subordinate  question  should  not 
interrupt  or  longer  delay  the  submission  and  determination  of  the  main  questions," 
the  high  contracting  parties  agreed  that  "  either  of  them  might  submit  to  the 
arbitrators  any  question  of  fact  involved  in  said  claims  and  ask  for  a  finding  thereon, 
the  question  of  the  liability  of  either  Government  upon  the  facts  found  to  be  the  subject 
of  further  negotiation ; " 

And  whereas  the  President  of  the  United  States  of  America  named  the  Hon.  John 
M.  Harlan,  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Hon.  John  T. 
Morgan,  Senator  of  the  United  States,  to  be  two  of  the  said  arbitrators;  and  Her 
Britannic  Majesty  named  the  Eight  Hon.  Lord  Hauiien  and  the  Hon.  Sir  John 
Thompson,  minister  of  justice  and  attorney-general  for  Canada,  to  be  two  of  the  said 
arbitrators;  and  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the  French  Republic  named  the  Baron 
de  Courcel,  senator,  ambassador  of  France,  to  be  one  of  the  said  arbitrators;  and  His 
Ma  jesty  the  King  of  Italy  named  the  Marquis  Emilio  Yisconti  Venosta,  former  minister 
of  foreign  affairs  and  senator  of  the  Kingdom  of  Italy,  to  be  one  of  the  said  arbitrators; 
and  His  Hajesty  the  King  of  Sweden  and  Norway  named  Mr.  Gregers  Gram,  minister 
of  state,  to  be  one  of  the  said  arbitrators ; 

And  whereas  we,  the  said  arbitrators  so  named  and  appointed,  having  taken  upon 
ourselves  the  burden  of  the  said  arbitration,  and  having  duly  met  at  Paris,  proceeded 
impartially  and  carefully  to  examine  and  decide  all  the  questions  submitted  to  us,  the 
said  arbitrators,  under  the  said  treaty,  or  laid  before  us  as  provided  in  the  said  treaty 
on  the  part  of  the  Governments  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  and  the  United  States, 
respectively; 

Xow  we,  the  said  arbitrators,  having  impartially  and  carefully  examined  the  said 
questions,  do  in  like  manner  by  this  our  award  decide  and  determine  the  said  ques- 
tions in  the  manner  following;  that  is  to  say,  we  decide  and  determine  as  to  the  five 
points  mentioned  in  Article  VI  as  to  which  our  award  is  to  embrace  a  distinct  decision 
upon  each  of  them : 

As  to  the  first  of  the  said  five  points,  we,  the  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  Mr.  Justice 
Harlan,  Lord  Hanueu,  Sir  John  Thompson,  Marquis  Visconti  Veuosta,  and  Mr. 
Gregers  Gram,  being  a  majority  of  the  said  arbitrators,  do  decide  and  determine  as 
follows : 

By  the  ukase  of  1821  Eussia  claimed  jurisdiction  in  the  sea  now  known  as  Bering 
Sea  to  the  extent  of  100  Italian  miles  from  the  coast  and  islands  belonging  to  her; 
but,  in  the  course  of  the  negotiations  which  led  to  the  conclusion  of  the  treaties  of 
1824  with  the  United  States  and  of  1825  with  Great  Britain,  Eussia  admitted  that  her 
jurisdiction  in  the  said  sea  should  be  restricted  to  the  reach  of  cannon  shot  from 
shore,  and  it  appears  that  from  that  time  up  to  the  time  of  the  cession  of  Alaska  to 
the  United  States  Eussia  never  asserted  in  fact  or  exercised  any  exclusive  jurisdiction 
in  Bering  Sea  or  any  exclusive  rights  in  the  seal  fisheries  therein  beyond  the  ordinary 
limit  of  territorial  waters. 

As  to  the  second  of  the  said  five  points,  we,  the  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  Mr. 
Justice  Harlan,  Lord  Hannen,  Sir  John  Thompson,  Marquis  Visconti  Venosta,  and 
Mr.  Gregers  Gram,  being  a  majority  of  the  said  arbitrators,  do  decide  and  determine 
that  Great  Britain  did  not  recognize  or  concede  any  claim  upon  the  part  of  Eussia  to 
exclusive  jurisdiction  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  in  Bering  Sea  outside  of  ordinary  terri- 
torial waters. 


THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

As  to  the  third  of  the  said  five  points,  as  to  so  much  thereof  as  requires  us  to 
decide  whether  the  body  of  water  now  known  as  Bering  Sea  was  included  in  the 
phrase  "Pacific  Ocean,"  as  used  in  the  treaty  of  1825  between  Great  Britain  and 
Russia,  we,  the  said  arbitrators,  do  unanimously  decide  and  determine  that  the  body 
of  water  now  known  as  Bering  Sea  was  included  in  the  phrase  "Pacific  Ocean"  as 
used  in  the  said  treatj^. 

And  as  to  so  much  of  the  said  third  point  as  requires  us  to  decide  what  rights,  if 
any,  in  Bering  Sea  were  held  and  exclusively  exercised  by  Russia  after  the  said  treaty 
of  1825,  we,  the  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  Mr.  Justice  Harlan,  Lord  Hauueu,  Sir  John 
Thompson,  Marquis  Visconti  Venosta,  and  Mr.  Gregers  Gram,  being  a  majority  of  the 
said  arbitrators,  do  decide  and  determine  that  no  exclusive  rights  of  jurisdiction  in 
Bering  Sea  and  no  exclusive  rights  as  to  the  seal  fisheries  therein  were  held  or 
exercised  by  Russia  outside  of  ordinary  territorial  waters  after  the  treaty  of  1825. 

As  to  the  fourth  of  the  said  five  points,  we,  the  said  arbitrators,  do  unanimously 
decide  and  determine  that  all  the  rights  of  Russia  as  to  jurisdiction  and  as  to  the  seal 
fisheries  in  Bering  Sea  east  of  the  water  boundary,  in  the  treaty  between  the  United 
States  and  Russia  of  the  30th  March,  1867,  did  pass  unimpaired  to  the  United  States 
under  the  said  treaty. 

As  to  the  fifth  of  the  said  five  points,  we,  the  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  Lord  Hannen, 
Sir  John  Thompson,  Marquis  Visconti  Yeuosta,  and  Mr.  Gregers  Gram,  being  a  majority 
of  the  said  arbitrators,  do  decide  and  determine  that  the  United  States  has  not  any 
right  of  protection  or  property  in  the  fur  seals  frequenting  the  islands  of  the  United 
States  in  Bering  Sea  when  such  seals  are  found  outside  the  ordinary  3-mile  limit. 

And  whereas  the  aforesaid  determination  of  the  foregoing  questions  as  to  the 
exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States,  mentioned  in  Article  VI,  leaves  the  subject 
in  such  a  position  that  the  concurrence  of  Great  Britain  is  necessary  to  the  establish- 
ment of  "regulations  for  the  proper  protection  and  preservation  of  the  fur  seals  in  or 
habitually  resorting  to  Bering  Sea,  the  tribunal  having  decided  by  a  majority  as  to 
each  article  of  the  following  regulations,  we,  the  said  Baron  de  Courcel,  Lord  Hannen, 
Marquis  Viscouti  Venosta,  and  Mr.  Gregers  Gram,  assenting  to  the  whole  of  the  nine 
articles  of  the  following  regulations,  and  being  a  majority  of  the  said  arbitrators,  do 
decide  and  determine  in  the  mode  provided  by  the  treaty  that  the  following  concurrent 
regulations  outside  the  jurisdictional  limits  of  the  respective  Governments  are 
necessary,  and  that  they  should  extend  over  the  waters  hereinafter  mentioned;  that 
is  to  say: 

REGULATIONS 
ARTICLE  1. 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  of  Great  Britain  shall  forbid  their 
citizens  and  subjects,  respectively,  to  kill,  capture,  or  pursue  at  any  time  and  in  any 
manner  whatever  the  animals  commonly  called  fur  seals  within  a  /one  of  60  miles 
around  the  Pribilof  Islands,  inclusive  of  the  territorial  waters. 

The  miles  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraph  are  geographical  miles,  of  GO  to 
a  degree  of  latitude. 

ARTICLE  2. 

The  two  Governments  shall  forbid  their  citizens  and  subjects,  respectively,  to  kill, 
capture,  or  pursue,  in  any  manner  whatever,  during  the  season  extending  each  year 


THE    REGULATIONS.  '235 

from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  July,  both  inclusive,  the  fur  seals  on  the  high  sea,  in 
the  part  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  inclusive  of  Bering  Sea,  which  is  situated  to  the  north 
of  the  thirty  fifth  degree  of  north  latitude  and  eastward  of  the  one  hundred  and 
eightieth  degree  of  longitude  from  Greenwich,  till  it  strikes  the  water  boundary 
described  in  Article  I  of  the  treaty  of  1867  between  the  United  States  and  Russia, 
and  following  that  line  up  to  Bering  Straits. 

ARTICLE  3. 

During  the  period  of  time  and  in  the  waters  in  which  the  fur-seal  fishing  is  allowed, 
only  sailing  vessels  shall  be  permitted  to  carry  on  or  take  part  in  fur-seal  fishing 
operations.  They  will,  however,  be  at  liberty  to  avail  themselves  of  the  use  of  such 
canoes  or  undecked  boats,  propelled  by  paddles,  oars,  or  sails  as  are  in  common  use  as 
fishing  boats. 

ARTICLE  4. 

Each  sailing  vessel  authorized  to  fish  for  fur  seals  must  be  provided  with  a  special 
license  issued  for  that  purpose  by  its  Government,  and  shall  be  required  to  carry  a 
distinguishing  flag,  to  be  prescribed  by  its  Government. 

ARTICLE  5. 

The  masters  of  the  vessels  engaged  in  fur-seal  fishing  shall  enter  accurately  in 
their  official  log  book  the  date  and  place  of  each  fur-seal  fishing  operation,  and  also 
the  number  and  sex  of  the  seals  captured  upon  each  day.  These  entries  shall  be 
communicated  by  each  of  the  two  Governments  to  the  other  at  the  end  of  each  fishing 
season. 

ARTICLE  6. 

The  use  of  nets,  firearms,  and  explosives  shall  be  forbidden  in  the  fur-seal  fishing. 
This  restriction  shall  not  apply  to  shotguns  when  such  fishing  takes  place  outside  of 
Bering  Sea  during  the  season  when  it  may  be  lawfully  carried  on. 

ARTICLE  7. 

The  two  Governments  shall  take  measures  to  control  the  fitness  of  the  men 
authorize  d  to  engage  in  fur-seal  fishing.  These  men  shall  have  been  proved  fit  to 
handle  with  sufficient  skill  the  weapons  by  means  of  which  this  fishing  may  be 
carried  on. 

ARTICLE  8. 

The  regulations  contained  in  the  preceding  articles  shall  not  apply  to  Indians 
dwelling  on  the  coasts  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  or  of  Great  Britain,  and 
carrying  on  fur-seal  fishing  in  canoes  or  undecked  boats  not  transported  by  paddles, 
oars,  or  sails,  and  manned  by  not  more  than  five  persons  each  in  the  way  hitherto 
practiced  by  the  Indians,  provided  such  Indians  are  not  in  the  employment  of  other 
persons,  and  provided  that,  when  so  hunting  in  canoes  or  undecked  boats,  they  shall 
not  hunt  fur-seals  outside  of  territorial  waters  under  contract  for  the  delivery  of  the 
skins  to  any  person. 

This  exemption  shall  not  be  construed  to  affect  the  municipal  law  of  either 
country,  nor  shall  it  extend  to  the  waters  of  Bering  Sea  or  the  waters  of  the  Aleutian 
Passes. 


236  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

Nothing  herein  contained  is  intended  to  interfere  with  the  employment  of  Indians 
as  hunters  or  otherwise  in  connection  with  fur- sealing  vessels,  as  heretofore. 

ARTICLE  9. 

The  concurrent  regulations  hereby  determined  with  a  view  to  the  protection  and 
preservation  of  the  fur  seals  shall  remain  in  force  until  they  have  been  in  whole  or  in 
part  abolished  or  modified  by  common  agreement  between  the  Governments  of  the 
United  States  and  of  Great  Britain. 

The  said  concurrent  regulations  shall  be  submitted  every  five  years  to  a  new 
examination,  so  as  to  enable  both  interested  Governments  to  consider  whether  in  the 
light  of  past  experience  there  is  occasion  for  any  modification  thereof. 


DECLARATIONS  MADE  BY  THE  TRIBUNAL  OF  ARBITRATION  AND  REFERRED  TO  THE 
GOVERNMENTS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  GREAT  BRITAIN  FOR  THEIR  CONSID- 
ERATION. 

[English  version.] 

I. 

The  arbitrators  declare  that  the  concurrent  regulations,  as  determined  upon  by 
the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration,  by  virtue  of  Article  VII  of  the  treaty  of  the  29th  of 
February,  1892,  being  applicable  to  the  high  sea  only,  should,  in  their  opinion,  be 
supplemented  by  other  regulations  applicable  within  the  limits  of  the  sovereignty  of 
each  of  the  two  powers  interested  and  to  be  settled  by  their  common  agreement. 

II. 

In  view  of  the  critical  condition  to  which  it  appears  certain  that  the  race  of  fur 
seals  is  now  reduced  in  couseqtieuce  of  circumstances  not  fully  known,  the  arbitrators 
think  fit  to  recommend  both  Governments  to  come  to  an  understanding  in  order  to 
prohibit  any  killing  of  fur  seals,  either  on  land  or  at  sea,  for  a  period  of  two  or  three 
years,  or  at  least  one  year,  subject  to  such  exceptions  as  the  two  Governments  might 
think  proper  to  admit  of. 

Such  a  measure  might  be  recurred  to  at  occasional  intervals,  if  found  beneficial. 

III. 

The  arbitrators  declare  moreover  that,  in  their  opinion,  the  carrying  out  of  the 
regulations  determined  upon  by  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration  should  be  assured  by  a 
system  of  stipulations  and  measures  to  be  enacted  by  the  two  powers;  and  that  the 
tribunal  must,  in  consequence,  leave  it  to  the  two  powers  to  decide  upon  the  means 
for  giving  effect  to  the  regulations  determined  upon  by  it. 


TERMS    OF  THE    ORIGINAL   LEASE   OF   THE   SEAL   ISLAND  WITH   THE  ALASKA    COM- 
MERCIAL COMPANY. 

This  indenture  in  duplicate,  made  this  3d  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1870,  by  and 
between  William  A.  Richardson,  Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  pursuance  of 
an  act  cf  Congress  approved  July  1,  1870,  entitled  "  An  act  to  prevent  the  extermina- 
tion of  fur-bearing  animals  in  Alaska,"  and  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  a 


THE    FIRST    CASE.  237 

corporation  duly  established  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  California,  acting  by  John 
F.  Miller,  its  president  and  agent,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  at  a  meeting  of  its 
board  of  trustees,  held  January  31,  1870,  wituesseth: 

That  said  Secretary  hereby  leases  to  the  said  Alaska  Commercial  Company, 
without  power  of  transfer,  for  the  term  of  twenty  years  from  the  1st  day  of  May,  1870, 
the  right  to  engage  in  the  business  of  taking  fur  seals  on  the  islands  of  St.  George 
and  St.  Paul  within  the  territory  of  Alaska,  and  to  send  a  vessel  or  vessels  to  said 
islands  for  the  skins  of  such  seals. 

And  the  said  Alaska  Commercial  Company,  in  consideration  of  their  right  under 
this  lease,  hereby  covenant  and  agree  to  pay  for  each  year  during  said  term,  and 
in  proportion  during  any  part  thereof,  the  sum  of  $55,000  into  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  of  the  Secretary  to  be  made  for 
this  purpose  under  said  act,  which  payment  shall  be  secured  by  deposit  of  United 
States  bonds  to  that  amount,  and  also  covenant  and  agree  to  pay  annually  into 
the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  under  said  rules  and  regulations,  an  internal- 
revenue  tax  or  duty  of  $2  for  each  seal  skin  taken  and  shipped  by  them  in 
accordance  with  the  provisions  of  the  act  aforesaid,  and  also  the  sum  of  62£  cents  for 
each  fur-seal  skin  taken  and  shipped,  and  55  cents  per  gallon  for  each  gallon  of  oil 
obtained  from  said  seals,  for  sale  in  said  islands  or  elsewhere,  and  sold  by  said 
company;  and  also  covenant  and  agree,  in  accordance  with  said  rules  and  regulations, 
to  furnish,  free  of  charge,  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George 
annually  during  said  term  25,000  dried  salmon,  60  cords  of  firewood,  and  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  salt  and  a  sufficient  quantity  of  barrels  for  preserving  the  necessary 
supply  of  meat. 

And  the  said  lessees  also  hereby  covenant  and  agree  during  the  term  aforesaid  to 
maintain  a  school  on  each  island,  in  accordance  with  said  rules  and  regulations,  and 
suitable  for  the  education  of  the  natives  of  said  islands,  for  a  period  of  not  less  than 
eight  months  in  each  year. 

And  the  said  lessees  further  covenant  and  agree  not  to  kill  upon  said  island  of 
St.  Paul  more  than  75,000  fur  seals,  and  upon  the  island  of  St.  George  not  more  than 
25,000  fur  seals  per  annum ;  not  to  kill  any  fur  seal  upon  the  islands  aforesaid  in  any 
other  mouth  except  the  months  of  June,  July,  September,  and  October  of  each  year; 
not  to  kill  said  seals  at  any  time  by  use  of  firearms  or  means  tending  to  drive  said 
seals  from  said  islands;  not  to  kill  any  female  seals  or  seals  under  1  year  old;  not  to 
kill  any  seal  in  water  adjacent  to  said  islands,  or  on  tlie  beach,  cliffs,  or  rocks,  where 
they  haul  up  from  the  sea  to  remain. 

And  the  said  lessees  further  covenant  and  agree  to  abide  by  any  restriction  or 
limitation  upon  the  right  to  kill  seals  under  this  lease  that  the  act  prescribes  or  that 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  judge  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  such  seals. 

And  the  said  lessees  hereby  agree  that  they  will  not  in  any  way  sell,  transfer,  or 
assign  this  lease,  and  that  any  transfer,  sale,  or  assignment  of  the  same  shall  be  void 
and  of  no  effect. 

And  the  said  lessees  further  agree  to  furnish  to  the  several  masters  of  the  vessels 
employed  by  them  certified  copies  of  this  lease,  to  be  presented  to  the  Government 
revenue  officers  for  the  time  being  in  charge  of  said  islands,  as  the  authority  of  said 
lessees  for  the  landing  and  taking  of  said  skins. 


238  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PK1BILOF    ISLANDS. 

And  the  said  lessees  further  covenant  and  agree  that  they  or  their  agents  shall 
not  keep,  sell,  furnish,  give,  or  dispose  of  any  distilled  spirituous  liquors  on  either  of 
said  islands  to  any  of  the  natives  thereof,  such  person  not  being  a  physician  and 
furnishing  the  same  for  use  as  medicine. 

And  the  said  lessees  further  covenant  and  agree  that  this  lease  is  accepted,  subject 
to  all  needful  rules  and  regulations  which  shall  at  any  time  or  times  hereafter  be  made 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  the  collection  and  payment  of  the  rental  herein 
agreed  to  be  paid  by  said  lessees  for  the  comfort,  maintainance,  education,  and 
protection  of  the  natives  of  said  islands,  and  for  carrying  into  effect  all  the  provisions 
of  the  act  aforesaid,  and  will  abide  by  and  conform  to  said  rules  and  regulations. 

And  the  said  lessees,  accepting  this  lease  with  a  full  knowledge  of  the  provisions 
of  the  aforesaid  act  of  Congress,  further  covenant  and  agree  that  they  will  fulfill  all 
the  provisions,  requirements,  and  limitations  of  said  act,  whether  herein  specifically 
set  out  or  not. 

In  witness  whereof  the  parties  aforesaid  have  hereunto  set  their  hands  and  seals 
the  day  and  year  above  written. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  A.  EICHARDSON, 

Acting  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
[SEAL.]  ALASKA  COMMERCIAL  COMPANY, 

By  JOHN  F.  MILLER,  President. 
Executed  in  presence  of — 
J.  H.  SAVILLE. 


COPT  OF  CONTRACT  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN 
COMMERCIAL  COMPANY,  UNDER  WHICH  SAID  COMPANY  IS  GRANTED  THE 
EXCLUSIVE  RIGHT  OF  TAKING  FUR  SEALS  UPON  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS  IN 
ALASKA. 

This  indenture,  made  in  duplicate  this  twelfth  day  of  March,  1890,  by  and  between 
William  Windom,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  in  pursuance  of 
chapter  3  of  title  23,  Revised  Statutes,  and  the  North  American  Commercial  Company, 
a  corporation  duly  established  under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  California,  and  acting 
by  I.  Liebes,  its  president,  in  accordance  with  a  resolution  of  said  corporation  adopted 
at  a  meeting  of  its  board  of  directors  held  January  4,  1890,  witnesseth: 

That  the  said  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  consideration  of  the  agreements 
hereinafter  stated,  hereby  leases  to  the  said  North  American  Commercial  Company 
for  a  term  of  twenty  years,  from  the  first  day  of  May,  1890,  the  exclusive  right  to 
engage  in  the  business  of  taking  fur  seals  on  the  islands  of  St.  George  and  St.  Paul, 
in  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  and  to  send  a  vessel  or  vessels  to  said  islands  for  the  skins 
of  such  seals. 

The  said  North  American  Commercial  Company,  in  consideration  of  the  rights 
secured  to  it  under  this  lease  above  stated,  on  its  part  covenants  and  agrees  to  do  the 
things  following,  that  is  to  say: 

To  pay  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  United  States  each  year  during  the  said  term  of 
twenty  years,  as  annual  rental,  the  sum  of  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and  in  addition 
thereto  agrees  to  pay  the  revenue  tax,  or  duty,  of  two  dollars  laid  upon  each  fur-seal 


THE    PRESENT    CASE.  231) 

skin  taken  and  shipped  by  it  from  said  islands  of  St.  George  and  St.  Paul,  and  also 
to  pay  to  said  Treasurer  the  further  sum  of  seven  dollars  sixty-two  and  one-half 
cents  apiece  for  each  and  every  fur-seal  skin  taken  and  shipped  from  said  islands,  and 
also  to  pay  the  sum  of  fifty  cents  per  gallon  for  each  gallon  of  oil  sold  by  it  made 
from  seals  that  may  be  taken  on  said  islands  during  the  said  period  of  twenty  years; 
and  to  secure  the  prompt  payment  of  the  sixty  thousand  dollars  rental  above  referred 
to,  the  said  company  agrees  to  deposit  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  bonds  of 
the  United  States  to  the  amount  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  face  value,  to  be  held  as  a 
guarantee  for  the  annual  payment  of  said  sixty  thousand  dollars  rental,  the  interest 
thereon  when  due  to  be  collected  and  paid  to  the  North  American  Commercial  Company, 
provided  the  said  company  is  not  in  default  of  payment  of  any  part  of  the  said  sixty 
thousand  dollars  rental. 

That  it  will  furnish  to  the  native  inhabitants  of  said  islands  of  St.  George  and 
St.  Paul  annually  such  quantity  or  number  of  dried  salmon,  and  such  quantity  of  salt 
and  such  number  of  salt  barrels  for  preserving  their  necessary  supply  of  meat  as  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  from  time  to  time  determine. 

That  it  will  also  furnish  to  the  said  inhabitants  eighty  tons  of  coal  annually,  and 
a  sufficient  number  of  comfortable  dwellings  in  which  said  native  inhabitants  may 
reside;  and  will  keep  said  dwellings  in  proper  repair;  and  will  also  provide  and  keep 
in  repair  such  suitable  schoolhouses  as  may  be  necessary,  and  will  establish  and 
maintain  during  eight  months  of  each  year  proper  schools  for  the  education  of  the 
children  on  said  islands,  the  same  to  be  taught  by  competent  teachers,  who  shall  be 
paid  by  the  company  a  fair  compensation,  all  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury;  and  will  also  provide  and  maintain  a  suitable  house  for  religious 
worship;  and  will  also  provide  a  competent  physician  or  physicians,  and  necessary 
and  proper  medicines  and  medical  supplies;  and  will  also  provide  the  necessaries  of 
life  for  the  widows  and  orphans  and  aged  and  infirm  inhabitants  of,  said  islands  who 
are  unable  to  provide  for  themselves  ;  all  of  which  foregoing  agreements  will  be  done 
and  performed  by  the  said  company  free  of  all  costs  and  charges  to  said  native 
inhabitants  of  said  islands  or  to  the  United  States. 

The  annual  rental,  together  with  all  other  payments  to  the  United  States  provided 
for  in  this  lease,  shall  be  made  and  paid  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  April  of  each  and 
every  year  during  the  existence  of  this  lease,  beginning  with  the  1st  day  of  April,  1891. 

The  said  company  further  agrees  to  employ  the  native  inhabitants  of  said  islands 
to  perform  such  labor  upon  the  islands  as  they  are  fitted  to  perform,  and  to  pay 
therefor  a  fair  and  just  compensation,  such  as  may  be  fixed  by  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  also  to  contribute,  as  far  as  is  in  its  power,  all  reasonable  efforts  to 
secure  the  comfort,  health,  education,  and  promote  the  morals  and  civilization  of  said 
native  inhabitants. 

The  said  company  also  agrees  faithfully  to  obey  and  abide  by  all  rules  and  regula- 
tions that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  heretofore  or  may  hereafter  establish  or 
make  in  pursuance  of  law  concerning  the  taking  of  seals  of  said  islands,  and  concerning 
the  comfort,  morals,  and  other  interests  of  said  inhabitants,  and  all  matters  pertaining 
to  said  islands  and  the  taking  of  seals  within  the  possession  of  the  United  States.  It 
also  agrees  to  obey  and  abide  by  any  restrictions  or  limitations  upon  the  right  to  kill 
seals  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  shall  judge  necessary,  under  the  law,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  seal  fisheries  of  the  United  States;  and  it  agrees  that  it  will  not 


240  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

kill  or  permit  to  be  killed,  so  far  as  it  can  prevent,  in  any  year  a  greater  number  of 
seals  than  is  authorized  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

The  said  company  further  agrees  that  it  will  not  permit  any  of  its  agents  to  keep, 
sell,  give,  or  dispose  of  any  distilled  spirits  or  spirituous  liquors  or  opium,  on  either 
of  said  islands,  or  the  waters  adjacent  thereto,  to  any  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  said 
islands,  such  person  not  being  a  physician  and  furnishing  the  same  for  use  as  a 
medicine. 

It  is  understood  and  agreed  that  the  number  of  fur  seals  to  be  taken  and  killed  for 
their  skins  upon  said  islands  by  the  North  American  Commercial  Company  during  the 
year  ending  May  1,  1891,  shall  not  exceed  60,000. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  reserves  the  right  to  terminate  this  lease  and  all 
rights  of  the  North  American  Commercial  Company  under  the  same  at  any  time,  on 
full  and  satisfactory  proof  that  the  said  company  has  violated  any  of  the  provisions 
and  agreements  of  this  lease,  or  any  of  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  or  any  Treasury 
regulation  respecting  the  taking  of  fur  seals,  or  concerning  the  islands  of  St.  George 
and  St.  Paul,  or  the  inhabitants  thereof. 

In  witness  whereof  the  parties  have  set  their  hands  and  seals  the  day  and  year 
above  written. 

[SEAL.]  WILLIAM  WINDOM,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 

[SEAL.]  NORTH  AMERICAN  COMMERCIAL  COMPANY, 

By  1.  LIEBES, 

President  of  the  North  American  Commercial  Company. 
Attest: 

H.  B.  PARSONS,  Assistant  Secretary. 


THE  CONFERENCE  OF  FUR-SEAL  EXPERTS. 

The  Conference  of  Fur-Seal  Experts,  representing  Great  Britain,  Canada,  and 
the  United  States,  convened  at  the  city  of  Washington,  November  10,  1897.  The 
following  were  the  delegates:  On  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  Prof.  D'Arcy  Wentworth 
Thompson;  on  the  part  of  Canada,  Mr.  James  Melville  Macouu:  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  Hon.  Charles  Suinuer  Hamliu  and  Dr.  David  Starr  Jordan. 

Mr.  Hamlin  was  chosen  president  of  the  Conference,  and  Mr.  George  A.  Clark, 
secretary  of  Stanford  University,  and  Mr.  Eobert  N.  Venuiug,  of  the  department  of 
marine  and  fisheries  of  Canada,  were  appointed  joint  secretaries. 

Hon.  John  W.  Foster,  special  commissioner  in  charge  of  the  fur-seal  matter  for 
the  United  States,  and  Sir  Louis  H.  Davies,  minister  of  marine  and  fisheries  for 
Canada,  and  Mr.  C.  F.  Frederick  Adam,  of  the  British  legation,  attended  the  sessions 
of  the  Conference. 

After  due  deliberation,  on  November  16,  the  Conference  agreed  to  and  duly  signed 
the  following  joint  statement  of  conclusions: 

JOINT    STATEMENT    OP   CONCLUSIONS    RESPECTING   THE   FUR-SEAL    HERD    FRE- 
QUENTING  THE   PRIBILOF   ISLANDS   IN   BERING   SEA. 

The  undersigned,  duly  empowered  delegates,  engaged  during  recent  years  in  the 
investigation  of  the  condition  and  habits  of  the  fur-seal  herd  frequenting  the  Pribilof 


JOINT    STATEMENT    OF    CONCLUSIONS.  241 

Islands  iu  Bering  Sea,  viz,  on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  Charles  Sumner  Haiuliii  and 
David  Starr  Jordan;  on  behalf  of  Great  Britain,  D'Arcy  Wentworth  Thompson;  on 
behalf  of  Canada,  James  Melville  Macoun,  have  met  in  conference  under  instructions 
from  our  respective  Governments.  Under  these  instructions  we  were  directed  "to 
arrive,  if  possible,  at  correct  contusions  respecting*  the  numbers,  conditions,  and 
habits  of  the  seals  frequenting-  the  Pribilof  Islands  at  the  present  time  as  compared 
with  the  several  seasons  previous  and  subsequent  to  the  Paris  award." 

As  a  result  of  such  conference,  now  completed,  we,  the  above-named  Charles 
Sumner  Hamlin,  David  Starr  Jordan,  D'Arcy  Weutworth  Thompson,  and  James 
Melville  Macoun,  find  ourselves  in  accord  on  the  propositions  contained  in  the 
following-  joint  statement  of  conclusions  respecting-  the  fur-seal  herd  frequenting  the 
Pribilof  Islands,  and  make  this  our  report : 

JOINT    STATEMENT. 

1.  There  is  adequate  evidence  that  since  the  year  1884,  and  down  to  the  date  of 
the  inspection  of  the  rookeries  in  1807,  the  fur-seal  herd  of  the  Pribilof  Islands,  as 
measured  on  either  the  hauling  grounds  or  breeding  grounds,  has  declined  iu  numbers 
at  a  rate  varying  from  year  to  year. 

2.  In  the  absence  for  the  earlier  years  of  actual  counts  of  the  rookeries  such  as 
have   been   made  in  recent   years,  the   best   approximate    measure  of  decline  now 
available  is  found  in  these  facts: 

(a)  About  100,000  male  seals  of  recognized  killable  age  were  obtained  from  the 
hauling  grounds  each  year  from  1871  to  1889.  The  table  of  statistics  given  in 
Appendix  I  shows,  on  the  whole,  a  progressive  increase  in  the  number  of  hauling 
grounds  driven  and  in  the  number  of  drives  made,  as  well  as  a  retardation  of  the  date 
at  which  the  quota  was  attained  during  a  number  of  years  previous  to  1889. 

(6)  In  the  year  1896,  28,964  killable  seals  were  taken  after  continuing  the  driving 
till  July  27,  and  in  1897, 19,189  after  continuing  the  driving  till  August  II.1  We  have 
no  reason  to  believe  that  during  the  period  1896  and  1897  a  very  much  larger  number 
of  males  of  recognized  killable  age  could  have  been  taken  on  the  hauling  grounds. 

The  reduction  between  the  years  1896  and  1897  in  the  number  of  killable  seals 
taken,  while  an  indication  of  decrease  in  the  breeding  herd,  can  not  be  taken  as  an 
actual  measure  of  such  decrease.  A  number  of  other  factors  must  be  taken  into 
consideration,  and  the  real  measure  of  decrease  must  be  sought  in  more  pertinent 
statistics  drawn  from  the  breeding  rookeries  themselves. 

3.  From  these  data  it  is  plain  that  the  former  yield  of  the  hauling  grounds  of  the 
Pribilof  Islands  was  from  three  to  five  times  as  great  as  in  the  years  1896  and  1897, 
and  the   same  diminution  to  one-third  or  one-fifth  of  the  formei  product  may  be 
assumed  when  we  include  also  the  results  of  hunting  at  sea. 

4.  The  death  rate  among  the  young  fur  seals,  especially  among  the  pups,  is  very 
great.     While  the  loss  among  the  pups  prior  to  their  departure  from  the  islands  has 
been  found  in  the  last  two  years  to  approach  20  per  cent  of  the  whole  number  born, 
and  though  the  rate  of  subsequent  mortality  is  unknown,  we  may  gather  from  the 

1  The  nominal  quota  of  30,000  for  1896  and  of  20,890  for  1897  included  food  skins  taken  in  the  fall 
of  1895  and  1896.     (These  figures,  28,964  and  19,189,  are  slightly  in  error  and  should  read  respectively 
28,365  and  18,961.) 
15184 16 


for: 


242  THE    FUR    SEALS   OF    THE    PRIBILOF    ISLANDS. 

number  whicli  return  each  year  that  from  one-half  to  two  thirds  have  perished  before 
the  age  of  three  years — that  is  to  say,  the  killable  age  for  the  males  and  the  breeding 
age  for  the  females. 

5.  The  chief  natural l  causes  of  death  among  pups,  so  far  as  known  at  present,  are 
as  follows,  the  importance  of  each  being  variable  and  more  or  less  uncertain : 

(a)  Eavages  of  the  parasitic  worm  Uncinaria,  most  destructive  on  sandy  breeding 
areas  and  during  the  period  from  July  15  to  August  20. 

(&)  Trampling  by  fighting  bulls  or  by  moving  bulls  and  cows,  a  source  of  loss 
greatest  among  young  pups. 2 

(c)  Starvation  of  pups  strayed  or  separated  from  their  mothers  when  very  young 
or  whose  mothers  have  died  from  natural  causes. 

(d)  The  ravages  of  the  great  killer  (Orca),  known  to  be  fatal  to  many  of  the  young 
and  perhaps  also  to  older  seals. 

At  a  later  period  drowning  in  the  storms  of  winter  is  believed,  but  not  certainly 
known,  to  be  a  cause  of  death  among  the  older  pups. 

G.  Counts  of  certain  rookeries,  with  partial  counts  and  estimates  of  others,  show 
that  the  number  of  breeding  females  bearing  pups  on  St.  Paul  and  St.  George  was, 
in  1896  and  1897,  between  160,000  and  130,000,  more  nearly  approaching  the  higher 
figure  in  1896  and  the  lower  in  1897. 3 

7.  On  certain  rookeries, where  pups  were  counted  in  both  seasons,  16,241  being 
found  in  1896  and  14,318  in  1897,  or  applying  a  count  adopted  by  Professor  Thompson, 
14,743  in  the  latter  year,  there  is  evident  a  decrease  of  9  or  12  per  cent  within  the 
twelvemonth  in  question.    The  count  of  pups  is  the  most  trustworthy  measure  of 
numerical  variation  in  the  herd.    The  counts  of  harems,   and  especially  of  cows 
present,  are  much  inferior  in  value.    The  latter  counts,  however,  point  in  the  same 
direction.    The  harems  on  all  the  rookeries  were  counted  in  both  seasons.     In  1896 
there  were  4,932;  in  1897  there  were  4,418,  a  decrease  of  10.41  per  cent.    The  cows 
actually  present  on  certain  rookeries  at  the  height  of  the  season  were  counted  in  both 
seasons.    Where  10,198  were  found  in  1896,  7,307  were  found  in  1897,  a  decrease  of 
28.34  per  cent.4 

8.  It  is  not  easy  to  apply  the  various  counts  in  the  form  of  a  general  average  to 
all  the  rookeries  of  the  islands.    We  recognize  that  a  notable  decrease  has  been  suffered 

1  That  is  to  say,  not  including  losses  ensuing  from  the  killing  of  mothers  at  sea. 

The  number  of  dead  pups  counted  on  the  rookeries  between  August  8  and  14,  in  1896,  was  11,045. 
It  is  recognized  that  this  number  is  an  underestimate,  inasmuch  as  a  greater  number  must  have  been 
overlooked  than  were  counted  twice.  It  is  also  recognized  that  the  great  majority  of  these  pups 
died. from  the  attacks  of  the  worm  Uncinaria. 

2  The  importance  of  this  source  of  loss  we  now  find  to  be  much  less  than  was  supposed  to  be  the 
case  from  the  investigations  made  in  1896.     (See  Reports  for  1896,  Jordan,  p.  45;  Thompson,  p.  20; 
Macoun,  MSS.) 

aFor  detailed  account  of  the  census  of  1896,  see  Jordan,  Preliminary  Report  for  1896,  p.  15; 
Thompson,  Report  for  1896,  p.  19;  Macoun,  Report,  1896,  MSS.  For  a  discussion  of  suggested 
corrections  to  the  census  of  1896,  see  Jordan,  Final  Report,  1897.  For  details  of  the  census  of  1897,  see 
Thompson,  Report,  1897 ;  Macoun,  Report,  1897 ;  Jordan,  Report,  1897.  A  correction  to  be  made  in 
the  census  of  1896  arises  from  the  agreed  assumption  that  the  total  number  of  breeding  females  was 
1.75  times  the  number  seen  in  the  height  of  the  season.  Later  observations  show  that  the  actual 
total  is  at  least  twice  the  maximum  number  ever  seen  at  once  on  a  rookery. 

4  The  extreme  irregularity  of  the  number  of  cows  present  on  the  rookeries  from  day  to  day  and 
the  consequent  invalidity  of  any  comparison  of  their  number  is  shown  by  the  counts  made  on  Lukauin 
and  Kitovi  rookeries  during  the  season  of  1897.  See  Appendix  II. 


JOINT   STATEMENT    OF   CONCLUSIONS  243 

by  the  herd  during  the  twelvemonth  1896  to  1897,  without  attempting,  save  by  setting 
the  above  numbers  on  record,  to  ascribe  to  the  decrease  more  precise  figures. 

9.  The  methods  of  driving  and  killing  practiced  on  the  islands,  as  they  have  come 
under  our  observation  during  the  past  two  years,  call  for  no  criticism  or  objection. 
An  adequate  supply  of  bulls  is  present  on  the  rookeries;  the  number  of  older  bachelors 
rejected  in  the  drives  during  the  period  in  question  is  such  as  to  safeguard  in  the 
immediate  future  a  similarly  adequate  supply;  the  breeding  bulls,  females,  and  pups 
on  the  breeding  rookeries  are  not  disturbed ;  there  is  no  evidence  or  sign  of  impairment, 
by  driving,  of  the  virility  of  males;  the  operations  of  driving  and  killing  are  conducted 
skillfully  and  without  inhumanity. 

10.  The  pelagic  industry  is  conducted  in  an  orderly  manner  and  in  a  spirit  of 
acquiescence  in  the  limitations  imposed  by  the  law. 

11.  Pelagic  sealing  involves  the  killing  of  males  and  females  alike,  without 
discrimination  and  in  proportion  as  the  two  sexes  coexist  in  the  sea.    The  reduction 
of  males  eifected  on  the  islands  causes  an  enhanced  proportion  of  females  to  be  found 
in  the  pelagic  catch;  hence  this  proportion,  if  it  vary  from  no  other  cause,  varies  at 
least  with  the  catch  upon  the  islands.     In  1895  Mr.  A.  B.  Alexander,  on  behalf  of 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  found  62.3  per  cent  of  females  in  the  catch  of 
the  Dora  Sieicerd  in  Bering  Sea,  and  in  1896  Mr.  Andrew  Halkett,  on  behalf  of  the 
Canadian  government,  found  84.2  in  the  catch  of  the  same  schooner  in  the  same  sea. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  instances,  especially  in  the  season  of  migration  and  on  the  course 
of  the  migrating  herds,  of  catches  containing  a  very  different  proportion  of  the  two 
sexes. 

12.  The  large  proportion  of  females  in  the  pelagic  catch  includes  not  only  adult 
females  that  are  both  nursing  and  pregnant,  but  also  young  seals  that  are  not 
pregnant,  and  others  that  have  not  yet  brought  forth  young,  with  such  also  as  have 
recently  lost  their  young  through  the  various  causes  of  natural  mortality.1 

13.  The  polygamous  habit  of  the  animal,  coupled  with  an  equal  birth  rate  of  the 
two  sexes,  permits  a  large  number  of  males  to  be  removed  with  impunity  from  the 
herd,  while,  as  with  other  animals,  any  similar  abstraction  of  females  checks  or 
lessens  the  herd's  increase,  or,  when  carried  further,  brings  about  an  actual  diminution 
of  the  herd.    It  is  equally  plain  that  a  certain  number  of  females  may  be  killed 
without  involving  the  actual  diminution  of  the  herd,  if  the  number  killed  do  not 
exceed  the  annual  increment  of  the  breeding  herd,  taking  into  consideration  the 
annual  losses  by  death  through  old  age  and  through  incidents  at  sea. 

14.  While,  whether  from  a  consideration  of  the  birth  rate  or  from  an  inspection 
of  the  visible  effects,  it  is  manifest  that  the  take  of  females  in  recent  years  has  been 
so  far  in  excess  of  the  natural  increment  as  to  lead  to  a  reduction  of  the  herd  in  the 
degree  related  above,  yet  the  ratio  of  the  pelagic  catch  of  one  year  to  that  of  the 
following  has  fallen  off  more  rapidly  than  the  ratio  of  the  breeding  herd  of  one  year 
to  the  breeding  herd  of  the  next.2 

1  Statements  on  which  to  base  an  estimate  of  the  relative  numbers  of  these  seveti»l  classes  are 
necessarily  incomplete,  but  the  following  notes  may  serve  as  a  partial  guide:  Townsenu,  Keport,  1895 
pp.  46,  47;  Alexander,  Report,  1895,  pp.  142, 143;  Macoun,  Report.  1897,  MSS. ;  Lucas,  Report,  1897,  MSs! 

'*  The  catch  of  the  pelagic  fleet,  Canadian  and  American,  in  1897  in  Bering  Sea  was  16,657  seals. 
In  the  summer  of  1896  it  was  29,500.  The  aggregate  catch  which  directly  influenced  the  herd  of  1897 
was  38,922,  a  number  made  up  by  adding  to  the  summer's  catch  of  1896  the  northwest  coast  catch  in 
the  spring  of  1897.  Up  to  the  present  time,  accordingly,  the  pelagic  catch  already  taken  (16,657),  and 


244  THE    FUR    SEALS    OF    THE    PK1BJLOF    ISLANDS. 

15.  Iu  this  greater  reduction  of  the  pelagic  catch,  compared  with  the  gradual 
decrease  of  the  herd,  there  is  a  tendency  toward  equilibrium,  or  a  stage  at  which  the 
numbers  of  the  breeding  herd  would  neither  increase  or  decrease.  In  considering 
the  probable  size  of  the  herd  in  the  immediate  future,  there  remains  to  be  estimated 
the  additional  factor  of  decline  resulting  from  reductions  in  the  number  of  surviving 
pups  caused  by  the  larger  pelagic  catch  of  1894  and  1895. 

10.  The  diminution  of  the  herd  is  yet  far  from  a  stage  which  involves  or  threatens 
the  actual  extermination  of  the  species,  so  long  as  it  is  protected  in  its  haunts  on  land. 
It  is  not  possible  during  the  continuance  of  the  conservative  methods  at  present  in 
force  upon  the  islands,  with  the  further  safeguard  of  the  protected  zone  at  sea,  that 
any  pelagic  killing  should  accomplish  this  final  end.  There  is  evidence,  however, 
that  in  its  present  condition  the  herd  yields  an  inconsiderable  return  either  to  the 
lessees  of  the  islands  or  to  the  owners  of  the  pelagic  fleet. 

Note:  The  tables  referred  to  in  this  joint  statement  as  Appendix  I  and  II  are  already  printed  in 
Appendix  I  of  this  report  (pp.  211  and  212)  and  need  not  be  repeated  here. 


AFFIDA  VITS  OF  DYERS  AND  DRESSERS  OF  FUR-SEAL  SKINS. 

The  following  affidavits  of  dyers  and  dressers  of  fur-seal  skins,  submitted  to  the 
conference  of  fur-seal  experts,  may  here  be  placed  on  record: 

QUEEN  STREET,  London,  E.  C. 

I,  Geo.  Rice,  of  the  city  of  London,  England,  make  oath  and  say  that  I  carry  on  the  business  of 
a  dyer  and  dresser  of  furs  and  seal  skins  in  this  city;  that  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  seal-skin  trade 
for  over  thirty  years  and  have  personal  and  practical  experience  in  the  various  processes  of  dressing 
and  dyeing  skins;  that  I  employ  500  men  in  my  business ;  that  of  the  seal  skins  that  have  been  taken 
in  the  waters  of  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  Bering  Sea  by  sealing  vessels  I  have  dressed  or  dyed  the 
skins  of  the  pelagic  catch  of  1894,  85,000  skins ;  1895,  70,000  skins ;  1896,  50;000  skins. 

That  I  personally  and  through  my  expert  employees  have  had  every  opportunity  of  examining 
these  skins;  that  a  part  of  them,  being  those  of  pups  or  young  seals,  are  not  with  certainty 
distinguishable  as  to  sex,  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  skins  can  be  readily  determined ;  that  of 
these  latter,  embracing  the  pelagic  catches  of  1894,  1895,  80  per  cent,  and  of  1896,  70  to  80  per  cent, 
were  the  skins  of  females;  that  of  the  skins  of  adult  seals  in  these  catches,  the  skins  of  males  were 
rarely  found.  I  further  say  that  I  make  this  declaration  in  the  interest  of  truth  and  for  the 
information  of  those  who  are  concerned  in  making  regulations  for  the  preservation  of  the  seal  herd, 

and  I  make  this  solemn  declaration  conscientiously  believing  the  same  to  be  true. 

GEO.  RICE. 

Sworn  to  at  "  The  Elms,"  Edmonton,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  this  26th  day  of  October,  1897, 

before  me. 

ALFRED  HODOKIMSOK, 

A  Commissioner  for  Oaths. 

I,  Edmund  Wischhusen,  of  138  New  North  road,  Islington,  in  the  county  of  London,  seal  dresser 
and  unhairer,  solemnly  and  sincerely  declare  as  follows: 

1.  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  seal-skin  trade  for  over  thirty-five  years.  I  have  actually  worked 
on  seals  for  the  last  forty  years,  and  on  the  Bering  Sea  seal  ever  since  they  have  been  brought  to 
market.  I  have  had  personal  and  practical  experience  in  the  various  processes  of  dressing  and 
unhairing  seal  skins  during  that  period.  I  have  been  regularly  employed  as  an  expert  by  the  largest 

operating  directly  against  next  year's  supply,  is  57.22  per  cent  less  than  the  pelagic  catch  which 
operated  agaiust  the  supply  of  1897  (see,  also,  Appendix  I) ;  or,  if  we  compare  merely  the  summer 
catches,  inasmuch  as  the  possible  spring  catch  of  1898  is  an  unknown  factor,  we  have  a  reduction  of 
43.46  per  cent.  (Later  and  more  accurate  returns  show  the  figures  here  given  for  the  pelagic  catch  of 
1897  to  be  slightly  in  error.  The  Bering  Sea  catch  should  be  16,464  and  the  complete  catch  39,110.) 


SEX    OF    SALTED    SKINS.  245 

fur  merchants  in  London  to  examine  the  skins  as  they  arrive  from  the  pelagic  sealers,  at  Messrs. 
C.  M.  Lampsons  &  Sons',  of  64  Queen  street,  in  the  city  of  London,  at  the  Hudson  Bay  Company's 
premises  in  Lime  street,  and  at  Messrs.  Culverwell  &  Brooks's,  at  St.  Mary  Axe.  These  are  the  only 
firms  to  whom  seal  skins  have  been  sent  for  sale  during  the  last  few  years.  I  inspect  them  in  order 
to  determine  the  quality  and  condition  of  the  skins,  and  it  is  my  business  to  report  to  the  merchants 
from  time  to  time  the  quality  of  the  skins,  and  the  merchants  act  on  my  report.  From  my  personal 
inspection  in  this  way  I  am  able  to  say  that  fully  80  per  cent  of  the  skins  which  have  arrived  from 
the  pelagic  sealers  during  the  last  three  years  are  the  skins  of  female  seals.  Of  the  135,000,  or 
thereabouts,  of  the  pelagic  northwest  catch  of  1894,  fully  120,000  came  under  my  notice  and  were 
examined  by  me;  and  of  the  102,000,  or  thereabouts,  of  the  like  catch  of  1895,  about  100.000  came 
under  my  notice  and  were  examined  by  me;  and  of  the  70,000  forming  the  like  pelagic  catch  of  1896, 
the  whole  parcel  came  under  my  notice  and  were  examined  by  me. 

2.  There  is  absolutely  110  difficulty  whatever  iu  distinguishing  the  sex  of  the  adult  seals,  as, 
apart  from  all  other  distinctions  (and  there  are  several,  as  for  instance,  a  difference  in  thesize  and  shape 
of  the  head  and  also  in  the  color),  the  distinction  in  the  breast  is  very  marked,  those  of  the  females 
being  very  large  and  prominent,  and  those  of  the  males  hardly  distinguishable.  It  requires  no  expert 
to  distinguish  the  sex.  In  most  instances  the  hair  round  the  nipples  of  the  female  seals  has  been 
worn  off  by  the  young  pups. 

The  only  reason  there  is  a  doubt  as  to  the  sex  of  the  remaining  20  per  cent  of  the  skins  is  that 
about  this  proportion  are  the  skins  of  very  young  animals  in  which,  the  breasts  and  heads  not  being 
fully  developed,  the  sex  is  not  so  easily  distinguishable,  but  this  only  applies  to  young  pups  and  not 
in  any  way  to  adult  seals. 

There  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  identifying  the  Bering  Sea  seals  from  those  caught  on  the  coast 
of  Japan  and  round  or  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Copper  Islands. 

And  I  make  this  solemn  declaration,  conscientiously  believing  the  same  to  be  true,  and  by  virtue 
of  the  provisions  of  the  statutory  declarations  act  of  1835. 

E.  WISCHHUSEN. 

Declared  at  No.  138  New  North  road,  in  the  county  of  London,  on  this  26th  day  of  October,  1897, 
before  me. 

JOHN  VENN,  Notary  Public. 

NOTE. — Attached  thereto  are  the  official  certificates  of  John  Venn,  notary  public,  of  the  city  of 
London,  and  William  M.  Osborne,  consul-general  of  the  United  States,  with  their  official  seals. 

I,  Walter  Edward  Martin,  of  4  Lambeth  Hill,  in  the  city  of  London,  member  of  the  firm  of 
C.  W.  Martin  &  Sons,  of  the  same  place,  fur  dyers  and  dressers,  solemnly,  sincerely,  and  truly  declare 
as  follows: 

I  am  a  British  subject.  I  have  been  in  the  business  of  dyeing  and  dressing  fur-seal  skins  in 
London  about  twenty-five  years,  and  have  personally  handled  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  such 
skins,  and  I  have  in  consequence  a  special  knowledge  of  seal  skins. 

I  have  at  various  times  made  a  special  examination  of  the  skins  of  the  northwest  (pelagic)  catch 
of  seals  (a  very  large  number  of  which  come  through  my  firm's  hands)  with  a  view  to  ascertaining 
whether  they  are  the  skins  of  male  or  female  seals,  and  I  say  that  of  the  seals  caught  in  the  Bering 
Sea  and  in  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  by  the  pelagic  sealers  fully  80  per  cent  of  them  are  female  seals, 
and  I  believe  a  still  larger  proportion.  The  remaining  20  per  cent  are  mostly  skins  of  young  pups  in 
•which  the  sex  is  not  very  distinguishable,  and  a  few  large  bulls,  not  more  than  about  3  per  cent  of 
the  entire  parcel. 

With  regard  to  adult  seals,  there  is  no  difficulty  whatever  in  detecting  the  skins  of  males  and 
the  skins  of  females.  The  breasts  are  very  prominent  in  the  female  seals,  and  it  requires  no  expert 
to  detect  which  is  the  skin  of  a  male  seal  and  which  the  skin  of  a  female  seal,  and  very  often  round 
the  lii-easts  of  the  females  the  fur  has  been  worn  away.  The  regulations  of  the  arbitrators,  made  in 
August,  1893,  at  Paris,  with  regard  to  pelagic  sealing  have  not  tended  to  in  any  way  diminish  the 
proportion  of  female  seals  to  males  killed  by  the  pelagic  sealers,  and  the  large  majority  of  the  skins 
of  the  pelagic  catch  still  bear  traces  of  the  seals  having  been  killed  by  means  of  shot. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  that  a  continuation  of  the  present  system  of  slaughtering  such 
a  large  proportion  of  the  female  seals  in  the  open  ocean,  with  the  consequential  death  of  such  a  large 
proportion  of  pups,  as  is  admitted  by  Prof.  D'Arcy  Thompson  in  his  recent  report  to  be  due  to  pelagic 


246  THE    FUE   SEALS   OF   THE    PRIBILOF   ISLANDS. 

sealing,  and  the  death  of  the  mothers  is  fast  tending  to  exterminate  the  seal  from  the  ocean,  and  that 
unless  some  steps  are  promptly  taken  to  stop  pelagic  sealing,  which  under  the  present  conditions  can. 
not  he  profitahle  to  the  sealers,  the  herd  will  soon  he  entirely  exterminated  and  destroyed,  and  I 
submit  that  the  only  means  of  preserving  the  seals  from  entire  extinction  is  to  absolutely  put  an  end 
to  pelagic  sealing,  which  it  ought  not  to  he  difficult  to  bring  about  by  mutual  agreement,  due  regard 
being  had  to  the  interests  of  all  parties  concerned. 

And  I  make  this  solemn  declaration,  conscientiously  believing  the  same  to  be  true,  and  by  virtue 
of  the  provisions  of  the  statutory  declarations  act,  1835. 

WALTER  MARTIN. 

Declared  at  No.  4  Lambeth  Hill,  in  the  city  of  London,  this  16th  day  of  September,  1897, 
before  me. 

JOHN  D.  VENN,  Notary  Public. 

NOTE. — Attached  thereto  are  the  official  certificates  of  John  Venn,  notary  public,  of  the  city  of 
London,  and  William  M.  Osborne,  consul-general  of  the  United  States,  with  their  ollicial  seab. 


PROHIBITION  OF  THE  KILLING  OF  FUE  SEALS  IN  THE  WA  TEES  OF  THE  NORTH  PA  CIFIC 
OCEAN,  AND  OF  THE  IMPORTATION  OF  FUR-SEAL  SKINS  TAKEN  IN  SUCH  WATERS. 

TREASURY  DEPARTMENT, 

OFFICE  OF  THE  SECRETARY, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  December  30,  1897. 
To  Collectors  and  other  Officers  of  the  Customs : 

The  following  act,  prohibiting  the  killing  of  fur  seals  in  the  waters  of  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean,  and  the  regulations  made  thereunder  are  published  for  the  information 
and  guidance  of  all  concerned : 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States  of 
America  in  Congress  assembled,  That  no  citizen  of  the  United  States,  nor  person  owing- 
duty  of  obedience  to  the  laws  or  the  treaties  of  the  United  States,  nor  any  person 
belonging  to  or  on  board  of  a  vessel  of  the  United  States,  shall  kill,  capture,  or  hunt, 
at  any  time  or  in  any  manner  whatever,  any  fur  seal  in  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  north  of  the  thirty-fifth  degree  of  north  latitude  and  including  Bering  Sea  and 
the  sea  of  Okhotsk. 

SEC.  2.  That  no  citizen  of  the  United  States,  nor  person  above  described  in 
section  one,  shall  equip,  use,  or  employ,  or  furnish  aid  in  equipping,  using  or 
employing,  or  furnish  supplies  to  any  vessel  used  or  employed,  or  to  be  used  or 
employed  in  carrying  on  or  taking  part  in  said  killing,  capturing,  or  hunting  of  fur 
seals  in  said  waters,  nor  shall  any  vessel  of  the  United  States  be  so  used  or  employed. 

SEC.  3.  That  every  person  guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  or 
of  any  regulations  made  thereunder,  shall,  for  each  offense,  be  fined  not  less  than  two 
hundred  dollars  or  more  than  two  thousand  dollars,  or  imprisoned  not  more  than  six 
months,  or  both;  and  every  vessel,  its  tackle,  apparel,  furniture,  and  cargo,  at  any 
time  used  or  employed  in  violation  of  this  Act,  or  of  the  regulations  made  thereunder, 
shall  be  forfeited  to  the  United  States. 

SEC.  4.  That  if  any  vessel  of  the  United  States  shall  be  found  within  the  waters 
to  which  this  Act  applies,  having  on  board  fur-seal  skins  or  bodies  of  seals,  or 
apparatus  or  implements  suitable  for  killing  or  taking  seals,  it  shall  be  presumed 
that  such  vessel  was  used  or  employed  in  the  killing  of  said  'seals,  or  that  said 


PROHIBITION   OF    SEALING.  247 

apparatus  or  implements  were  used  in  violation  of  this  Act  until  the  contrary  is 
proved  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court. 

SEC.  5.  That  any  violation  of  this  Act  or  of  the  regulations  thereunder  may  be 
prosecuted  either  in  the  district  court  of  Alaska  or  in  any  district  court  of  the  United 
States  in  California,  Oregon,  or  Washington. 

SEC.  6.  That  this  Act  shall  not  interfere  with  the  privileges  accorded  to  Indians 
dwelling  on  the  coast  of  the  United  States  under  section  six  of  the  Act  of  April  sixth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  ninety-four,  but  the  limitations  prescribed  in  said  Act  shall 
remain  in  full  force. 

SEC.  7.  That  this  Act  shall  not  affect  in  any  way  the  killing  or  taking  of  fur  seals 
upon  the  Pribilof  Islands,  or  the  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  thereto. 

SEC.  8.  That  any  officer  of  the  Naval  or  Eeveuue-Cutter  Service  of  the  United 
States,  and  any  other  officers  duly  designated  by  the  President,  may  search  any 
vessel  of  the  United  States  in  port  or  on  the  high  seas  suspected  of  having  violated 
or  of  having  an  intention  to  violate  the  provisions  of  this  Act,  and  may  seize  such 
vessel  and  the  offending  officers  and  crew  and  bring  them  into  the  most  accessible 
port  of  the  States  and  Territory  mentioned  in  section  five  of  this  Act  for  trial. 

SEC.  9.  That  the  importation  into  the  United  States  by  any  person  whatsoever  of 
fur- seal  skins  taken  in  the  waters  mentioned  in  this  Act,  whether  raw,  dressed,  dyed, 
or  manufactured,  is  hereby  prohibited,  and  all  such  articles  imported  after  this  Act 
shall  take  effect  shall  not  be  permitted  to  be  exported,  but  shall  be  seized  and 
destroyed  by  the  proper  officers  of  the  United  States. 

SEC.  10.  That  .the  President  shall  have  power  to  make  all  necessary  regulations 
to  carry  this  Act  into  effect. 

Approved,  December  29, 1897. 

REGULATIONS. 

1.  No  fur-seal  skins,  whether  raw,  dressed,  dyed,  or  otherwise  manufactured,  shall 
be  admitted  to  entry  in  the  United  States  unless  there  shall  be  attached  to  the  invoice 
a  certificate,  signed  by  the  United  States  consul  at  the  place  of  exportation,  that  said 
skins  were  not  taken  from  seals  killed  within  the  waters  mentioned  in  said  act, 
specifying  in  detail  the  locality  of  such  taking,  whether  on  land  or  at  sea,  and  also  the 
person  from  whom  said  skins  were  purchased  in  their  raw  and  dressed  state,  the  date 
of  such  purchase,  and  the  lot  number.    Consuls  shall  require  satisfactory  evidence  of 
the  truth  of  such  facts  by  oath  or  otherwise  before  giving  any  such  certificate. 

No  fur-seal  skins,  whether  raw,  dressed,  dyed,  or  otherwise  manufactured,  shall 
be  admitted  to  entry  as  part  of  a  passenger's  personal  effects  unless  accompanied 
by  an  invoice  certified  by  the  consul  as  herein  provided. 

All  fur-seal  skins,  whether  raw,  dressed,  dyed,  or  otherwise  manufactured,  the 
invoices  of  which  are  not  accompanied  by  the  certificate  above  prescribed,  shall  be 
seized  by  the  collector  of  customs  and  destroyed  as  provided  for  in  section  9  of  the  act 
of  December  29,  1897. 

2.  Every  article  manufactured  in  whole  or  in  part  from  fur-seal  skins,  the  invoice 
of  which  is  presented  as  aforesaid  to  the  consul,  shall  have  legibly  stamped  thereon 
the  name  of  the  manufacturer  and  the  place  of  manufacture,  and  shall  be  accompanied 
by  a  statement  in  writing,  under  the  oath  of  said  manufacturer,  that  said  skin  or  skins ' 


248  THE  FUR  £EALS  OF  THE  PRIBILOF  ISLANDS. 

used  in  said  article  were  taken  from  seals  not  killed  at  sea  within  the  waters  mentioned 
in  said  act,  specifying  the  locality  in  detail,  and  also  the  person  from  whom  said  skins 
were  purchased  in  their  raw  and  dressed  state,  the  date  of  said  purchase,  and  the  lot 
number. 

3.  When  an  application  is  made  to  a  consul  for  a  certificate  under  these  regulations 
the  invoice  and  proofs  of  origin  presented  by  the  exporter  shall  be  submitted  to  the 
Treasury  agent  designated  for  the  purpose  of  investigation,  and  the  consul  shall  not 
certify  any  such  invoice  until  such  agent  shall  have  made  his  report. 

4.  All  articles  manufactured  in  whole  or  in  part  from  fur-seal  skins  and  imported 
into  the  United  States  shall  have  the  linings  thereof  so  arranged  that  the  pelt  of  the 
skin  or  skins  underneath  shall  be  exposed  for  examination. 

5.  All  fur-seal  skins,  whether  raw,  dressed,  dyed,  or  otherwise  manufactured  in 
whole  or  in  part,  whether  imported  as  merchandise  or  as  part  of  a  passenger's  effects, 
shall  be  sent  to  the  public  stores  for  careful  examination  and  inspection  to  prevent 
evasion  of  the  law. 

6.  All  garments  made  in  whole  or  in  part  of  seal  skins  and  taken  from  this  country 
may  be  reeutered  on  presentation  of  a  certificate  of  ownership  from  the  collector  of 
customs  of  the  port  of  departure,  which  certificate  shall  have  been  obtained  by  the 
owner  of  the  garment  by  offering  the  same  to  the  collector  for  inspection  before  leaving 
this  country. 

7.  Nothing  in  these  regulations  shall  affect  the  right  of  any  officer  of  the  customs 
to  inspect  and  seize  any  fur-seal  skin  or  garment  imported  which  he  may  find  to  have 
been  imported  in  violation  of  said  act. 

L.  J.  GAGE, 

Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
Approved : 

WILLIAM  MCKINLEY. 


APPENDIX  III. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  plates  herewith  presented  are  designed  to  show  the  fact  of  decline  in  the 
fur-seal  herd  during  the  period  covered  by  the  operations  of  the  regulations  of  the 
Paris  Award.  The  number  of  examples  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely,  but  it  is  not 
necessary  to  do  so. 

Plate  1. — This  is  a  view  in  panorama  of  a  portion  of  Kitovi  rookery  on  St.  Paul 
Island  known  as  the  Amphitheater.  The  photographs  were  taken  on  the  15th  of  July, 
1894,  when  the  season  was  at  its  height  and  the  maximum  number  of  breeding  seals 
foi;  the  season  present. 

Plate  2. — This  is  a  view  of  the  same  breeding  ground  taken  on  the  13th  of  July, 
1897,  a  date  which  practically  coincides  with  that  in  plate  1.  The  contrast  for  the 
two  seasons  is  too  obvious  to  require  comment. 

Plate  3. — This  represents  a  section  of  the  small  breeding  ground  on  Eeef  Peninsula 
known  as  Ardiguen.  The  date  is  July  15,  1894.  By  the  aid  of  a  glass  six  harems, 
aggregating  more  than  100  cows,  can  be  distinguished.  This  plate  should  be  compared 
with  plate  5,  to  follow. 

Plate  4. — This  view  of  the  same  breeding  ground  for  July  20,  1895,  is  introduced 
to  show  the  progress  of  the  decline,  by  comparison  with  the  season  of  1894,  as  shown 
in  plate  3.  Ordinarily  the  shrinkage  between  successive  seasons  is  not  clearly  marked 
in  photographs,  but  the  seasons  of  1894  and  1895  are  exceptional  in  this  regard.  The 
unusual  loss  which  the  herd  suffered  in  the  first  season  of  the  operation  of  the 
regulations  of  the  Paris  Award — 61,000  as  against  30,000  in  1893 — showed  itself 
distinctly  on  the  breeding  grounds  in  1894,  as  indicated  in  this  and  other  photographs 
which  might  be  cited. 

Plate  5. — This  third  view  of  the  upper  section  of  Ardiguen  for  July  13, 1897,  when 
compared  with  plate  3,  shows  the  most  unmistakable  evidence  of  rookery  decline, 
being  completely  abandoned.  In  1896  there  were  three  harems  in  this  territory.  The 
seals  represented  an  overflow  due  to  the  crowded  condition  of  the  beach,  with  which 
it  is  connected  by  a  narrow  ravine.  In  1897  there  was  room  for  all  the  seals  below. 

Plate  6. — This  plate  shows  a  bird's-eye  view  of  Zapadni  rookery  of  St.  George, 
taken  on  July  19,  1895.  With  it  should  be  contrasted  the  view  of  the  same  rookery 
in  plate  7. 

Plate  7. — This  view  of  Zapadni  rookery  was  taken  on  July  11, 1897.  It  shows  the 
group  in  the  foreground  of  plate  6  entirely  gone.  The  large  group  at  the  foot  of  the 
slope  has  shrunk  perceptibly,  as  has  also  the  one  at  some  distance  beyond.  The 
farthest  group  shown  in  1895  is  practically  broken  up  in  1897. 

249 


§1 

_i    H 


1  y 

03     .5 
_    O 


•I 


OF  THB 

TTNIVERh- 


<    5 


-I 

>•     £ 
DC     (Li 


UlB- 

OP  THJ. 

UNIVERSITY 

^ 


I-  ff 


# 


si 

3  I 


OP    THE 

TTNIVERSITY 


OF   THE 


FI 


OF  THS 

UNIVERSITY 


INDEX. 


Abandonment  of—  Page. 

breeding  territory 104 

cause  of 137,138 

Marunichen 138 

Spilki 137 

Acreage  measurement — 

contrast  of 88 

difficulty  of 75 

summary  of 88 

Act  of  Congress 17 

Actual  counts 90, 109 

Adams,  Bristow 21 

Affidavits  of  furriers 244 

Agents,  Government 35, 191 

Alaska  Commercial  Company 28 

lease  of 29,236 

Alaska,  transfer  of 24 

Aleuts,  condition  of 34 

notions  of 139 

Alexander,  A.  B. : 

investigations  regarding  sexes 155 

spearing  of  seals 144 

Alleged  change  of  habits 134 

Allen,  Dr.  J.  A 43,73 

American  contentions 180 

American  fur-seal  catch: 

1894 215 

1895 217 

1896 219 

1897 220 

American  citizens  prohibited  from  sealing  176,  246 

American  management 28 

Amphitheater  of  Kitovi : 

count  of 54,  212 

harems  on 54 

synopsis  of  counts 53 

Antarctic  seals 43 

Arbitration  Tribunal 30, 177,  231 

award  of 231 

declarations  of 236 

regulations  of 180,234 

Arbitrary  selection  of  males 136 

Arbitration : 

proposals  for 178 

treaty  of 179,228 


Arctocephalus 43 

Ardiguen 39,107 

Arrival  of  seals 49 

Atlantic  seals 43 

Average  harem 90 

Babine,  A.  V 37 

Bachelor,  the 46 

Bachelors  : 

landing  of 49 

of  Bering  Island 135 

Bachelor  herd,  decline  of 29 

Barrett-Hamilton,  G.  E.  H 18, 125 

Basis  of  enumeration 101 

Bayard,  Secretary 177 

Beaman,  J.  W.,  counts  of 82,83 

Bering  Island 119 

dearth  of  bulls  on 125 

Bering  Sea,  sealing  in 143, 146 

Bering,  Vitus,  second  voyage  of 23 

Elaine,  Secretary 178 

Breeding  grounds 36 

Breeding  seals : 

estimate  of 89 

summary  of 93 

Breeding  season : 

breaking  up 67 

height  of 53,54 

British  contentions 87, 

153, 154, 159, 161, 162, 163, 168, 180 

Bryant,  Capt.  Charles 77,139 

estimate  for  1869 77 

note  on  Kitovi 82 

Buckshot  in  seals 145 

Bull,  the 46 

Bulls: 

condition  of 67 

count  of 100 

discipline  of 58 

fasting  of 57 

fighting  of 52,59,60,61 

no  lack  of 122,127 

not  impotent 127 

proportion  of,  to  cows 119, 194 

scarcity  of,  on  Bering  Island 125 

superfluous 120 

l 


II 


INDEX. 


Callorhinus —  Page. 

alascanus 45 

curileiisis 45 

ursinus 45 

Canada : 

interests  of 174 

objections  of 178 

sealing  industry  of 176 

Canadian  fur- seal  catch: 

1894 216 

1895 217 

1896 219 

1897 221 

Cape  Horn  seals 226 

Carcass-strewn  driveways 132 

Catastrophe  of  1834 25 

Categories  of  seals 46 

Cause  of  decline 116, 150 

not  killing  of  males 123 

pelagic  sealing 153 

Census  of  1896 93,213 

chief  correction  in 94 

overestimates  in 94 

revised  table  of 96,213 

revision  of 93 

Census  of  1897 96,97,213 

Census  of  breeding  seals,  tentative — 

for  St.  George 91 

forSt.  Paul 91 

Chinese  markets,  standards  of 25 

Clark,  George  A 18,109 

Close  season 30, 181 

Closed  zone 30,181 

Commander  Islands : 

discovery  of 23 

driveways  of 130 

suggested  migration  to 134 

Commission,  the 17 

Comparative  census,  1896-97 213 

Conclusions,  summary  of 184 

Condition  of  herd : 

past 75 

present 90 

Conference  of  experts 188, 240 

findings  of 188,241 

Counts  of  cows  and  pups : 

1896 92 

1897 96 

count  in  1895 85,86 

Cow,  the 46 

Cows: 

daily  counts  of 51,53,212 

dead 62 

departure  of    58 

feeding  of 55 

increased  mortality  in  1897 62, 108 

landing  of 51,  52,  60 

treatment  by  bulls 61 


Tage. 

Custom-house  examination  of  skins 155 

Daily  counts  of  1X97 51,  52,  53,  54,  212 

Dall,  Dr.  W.  H.,  notes  of 26 

Dawson,  Dr.  G.  M H6 

Dead  pups : 

counts  of 213,  214 

decrease  of,  in  1897 108 

early  death  of 70, 166 

eaten  by  foxes 167 

loss  of  bodies 167 

on  St.  Paul , 168, 169 

on  St.  George 71, 168, 169 

on  death  traps 70 

removal  of 170 

total  for  1896 70,169 

Death  traps: 

contrasted  counts 108 

record  of 70 

Decline: 

beginning  of 102,150 

cause  of 115 

evidence  of 104 

history  of 102 

in  quota  of  1897 108 

percentages  of 110 

total  extent  of 114 

Defective  skins 121 

Discovery  and  exploration 23 

Discipline  of  the  harern 58,  59 

Dora  Siewerd,  cruises  of 155 

Drive,  the 117 

Driving : 

animal  driven 127 

process  of 126 

Drives : 

absence  of  sexual  injury 133 

American 128 

care  exercised  on 131 

comparison  of 130 

fatalities  on 132 

from  Northeast  1  'dint 128 

from  Reef 117,129 

not  a  factor  in  dec-line 133 

on  Commander  Islands 130 

Russian 128 

shortening  of 129 

Early  rookery  estimates — 

of  1869 77 

of  1872-1874 77 

of  1886 84 

of  1890 84 

of  1895 85,  86,  87 

reconstruction  of 88,  89 

value  of 82,  84,  86,  88 

East  rookery 42 

Effect  of  pelagic  sealing 151.5 


INDEX. 


Ill 


Page. 

Elliott,  H.  W 34,  35,  77,  79,  126,  136, 138 

estimate  of  1872-1874 77 

estimate  of  1890 84 

surveys  of 79,  80 

unit  of  space 80 

Empty  stomachs,  explanation  of 161 

Equilibrium  of  herd 102,  158 

under  pelagic  sealing 158,  159 

could  not  be  maintained 159 

exists  below  commercial  ruin 159 

Estimates  of  1895: 

contrast  of 87 

Crowley 86 

Murray 87 

True  and  Townsend 85 

Estimates  of  1897 : 

bachelors 98 

bulls 98,100 

cows  and  pups 98, 100 

idle  and  half  bulls 98 

seals  of  all  classes  present 100 

seals  dead  during  season 100 

seals  alive  in  October 100 

yearlings  and  virgins 99 

Excrement  o/  seals 161 

Fasting  of  seals 57 

Females,  protection  of 25 

ease  of  capture 156 

effect  of  killing 171,189 

feeding  of 161 

killing  of 25,153,156 

percentage  in  pelagic  catch 155,  225 

possible  abstraction  of 157,  243 

preponderance  of 154 

skins  should  be  contraband 190 

Fighting,  oflmlls 52,59,60,61 

due  to  sexual  excitement 60 

instinct  for 62 

Findings  of  fact 188,  242 

Firearms,  used  in  sealing 143 

Fixity  of  habits 134 

Food  and  feeding  grounds 68 

Food,  digestion  of 56 

Fur-seal  herd : 

condition  of 26,88,89,100 

importance  of 190 

international  interest  in 173 

Fur  seal  or  sea  bear 43 

Fur-seal  question,  origin  of 177 

Future  of  the  herd 188 

Gains  and  losses  of  the  herd 149 

Galapagos  Islands 74 

Gorbatch  rookery 39 

Grass-grown  areas 104 

Great  Britain,  interests  of 174 

Great  killer,  the 71 


Page. 

Gressigrada,  suborder  of. 43 

Growth  of  pelagic  catch 149, 150 

Guadulupe  Island 44 

Halkett,  A 18,65,185 

report  on  proportion  of  females 155 

remarks  on  stagy  skins 65 

Hamlin,  Chas.  S 18,241 

Harbors,  absence  of 32 

Harem,  the 57 

Harem  sizes 58 

Harems,  count  on  amphitheater 54 

summary  of 96, 97 

Hauling  grounds , 36 

not  driven 121 

number  driven,  1871-1889 123 

Historical  sketch ~. 23 

Home  of  the  fur  seals 31 

Hooper,  Capt.  C.ll 174,226 

Howes,  Osborne 26 

Hunting  by  Indians 142 

Hutchiuson  Hill 37 

Ice,  obstruction  by 25,  49 

Idle  bulls,  estimate  of 100 

Indiscriminate  killing 154 

Inquiry,  occasion  of 17 

Inspection,  effect  of 140 

need  of 194 

Instructions 18 

Interregnum : 

Ball's  note  on 26 

females  not  killed  in 28 

Howes's  notes 26 

methods  of  killing 27 

number  of  seals  killed 26 

Introduction 17 

Investigation,  the .*. 18, 19 

Itinerary : 

1896 20 

1897 21 

Jordan,  Dr.  David  S 17,130 

Joint  agreement  of  1892 115 

Joint  commission  of  1892 179 

Joint  report  of  experts,  1897 188, 240 

Killable  seals 116 

Killing  season 116 

Killing: 

indiscriminate 154 

premature 123 

wasteful 124 

Killers 71 

Killings : 

at  Northeast  Point 207 

at  Zapadni  (St.  George) 207 

comparison  for  1889  and  1890 124 

for  food 25,121,124 

land  and  sea 116,  211 


IV 


INDEX. 


Killings — Continued.  Page. 

on  Commander  Islands 125 

operations  of 118, 119 

percentage  killed  at —         50 

rejected  seals  at 50 

summary  of 207,208,209 

Killings,  daily  tables : 

1875 197 

1880 199 

1886 200 

1889 201 

1890 202 

1891 203 

1892-93 204 

1894-95 205 

1896-97 206 

Kitovi  rookery 38,  49 

average  harem  of 90 

taken  as  typical 90 

Komandorski  ( Commander)  herd 44 

Kuril  Islands,  the 45 

Lack  of  knowledge  in  past 191 

Lagoon  rookery 40 

apparent  increase  on Ill 

Land  and  sea  killing : 

history  of 29 

statistics  of 149, 211 

Land  killing : 

confined  to  males 116 

effect  of 119 

in  1869 27,28 

suspension  of 147 

Law  prohibiting  American  sealers 246 

Liebes,  Isaac,  note  on  stagy  skins 66 

Little  East  rookery 42 

Little  Zapadni  rookery 40 

Lobos  Island  seals 226 

Lucas,  F.  A 18,48,109,160,165 

Lukanin  rookery 38 

count  of 51,212 

Management : 

American 28 

Russian 25 

wasteful 123,124 

Macoun,  James  M 18, 109, 163, 168 

Males,  killed  with  impunity 189,243 

Martin,  Walter  E.,  deposition  of 245 

Marunichen 41 

abandonment  of 138 

Massed  rookeries 52 

Maynard,  Lieutenant 83 

McIntyre,H.H 28,144 

Middle  Hill 40,103 

Migrations 47 

period  and  limits  of 48 

Modus  vivendi 143,179,227 

effect  of 147 

text  of...  227 


Page. 

Morton,  John  M 22 

Moser,  Capt.  Jefferson  F 17 

Murray,  Col.  Joseph 18, 170, 197 

estimate  for  1895 87 

Naturalist,  need  of 194 

Natural  mortality 70, 115, 157, 184, 185 

Need  of  continuous  expert  study 193 

Nomenclature  of  the  seals 46 

Nonbreeding  seals: 

estimate  of  in  past 89 

estimate  for  1897 97, 98 

North  American  Commercial  Company,  lease 

of 29,238 

Northeast  Point : 

killings  at 207 

rookeries  of 37 

North  Pacific,  seals  of 44 

North  rookery 42,  49 

Noyes,  Capt.  W.  L 74 

Old  age,  death  from 157 

Old  Johns  Rock 108 

Orca  orca 71 

Otter  Island 32,56 

bachelors  on 39 

harem  on 39,  93 

Overdriving: 

has  not  occurred 127 

theory  of 126 

Overkilling : 

has  not  occurred 121 

impracticability  of 121 

possibility  of 120 

Palata  drive 131 

Parade  ground  of  reef 38 

Parasites  of  seals 70 

Paris  award 231 

results  of 177 

Parrott  &  Co.,  expedition  of 26 

Patrol,  cost  of 182 

Pelage  of  fur  seals 65 

Pelagic  fleet,  value  of 174,226 

vessels  sealing  in  award  area 225 

Pelagic  catch : 

compared  with  land  catch 148 

decline  of 148,175 

from  Commander  herd 148, 151 

growth  of 149 

relation  to  land  catch 152 

percentage  of  females  in 154, 155,  225 

statistics  of 149 

summary  of 116,  222 

summary  since  1894 175 

Pelagic  sealing 142 

Asiatic  waters 147, 151 

a  check 151 

a  suicidal  industry 175 


INDEX. 


Pelagic  sealing — Continued.  Page. 

a  Canadian  industry 176 

by  Indians 30,142 

by  white  men 30,143 

catch  of,  since  1894 215-221 

cumulative  effect  of 171 

destruction  of  pups  by 

entry  into  Bering  Sea 30, 142 

expansion  of 150 

in  Bering  Sea 30 

legality  of 176 

loss  from,  total 171 

loss  since  1883 171 

loss  under  the  regulations 172 

off  northwest  coast 146 

possible  equilibrium  under 156 

prohibited  to  Americans 176 

prohibition  necessary 187 

slaughter  of  females 187, 189 

summary  of  statistics 222 

vessels  engaged  in 143, 225 

Period  of  equilibriu  m,  1871-1880 102 

Personal  estimates 83 

Phoca  ursina 44 

Photographs : 

4    of  Tolstoi  in  1891 115 

limitations  of 106 

relation  to  counts 106 

value  of 105,107 

Pinnipedia,  the 43 

Policy  of  seclusion 140 

Polovina  rookery 37 

early  estimates  of 82,83 

Polygamous  habits  of  seals 119 

Population  of  rookeries : 

difficulty  of  estimate 76 

fluctuation  of 54 

Present  condition  of  herd 90, 100 

Promiscuous  nursing  of  pups,  theory  of. ..         162 

Proportion  of  bulls  to  cows 119 

Protection : 

proposed  measures 178 

counter  proposition 178 

Pribilof,  Gerrasim 23 

Pribilof  herd 44 

Pribilof  Islands: 

area  of 31 

birds  of 33 

climate 32 

discovery  of 23 

geography  of 31 

inhabitants  of 33 

latitude  and  longitude  of 31 

mammals 33 

vegetation 33 

Pups : 

birth  of 55 


Pups — Continued.  Page. 

counts  of,  1896 92 

count  of,  1897 96 

death  of 70,158 

dead  unborn < 160 

dependent  upon  milk 164 

estimate  of  starved 169, 170 

excess  over  cows 92,96 

excursions  of 69 

killing  of 25,124 

play  of 163 

podding  of 68 

starvation  of 160, 165 

starving 166,167 

stomach  examinations 163 

supposed  feeding  of 163 

swimming  of 69 

trampling  of 115 

Pup,  the 47 

Questions  still  unsettled  193 

Quinan,   Lieutenant,   account  of  shooting 

seals 145 

Quota : 

anticipation  of 123 

contraction  of  1876-77  and  1882-83 122 

data  regarding 123 

date  of  filling 123 

decrease  of  in  1897 108 

fixing  of 193 

failure  of,in  1890 103 

irregular  since  1890 151 

measure  of  breeding  herd 114 

of  1871-1889 88 

of  1890  and  since 103 

of  1894-95 103 

of  1896-97 88,  111,  112, 113,  209,  210 

relation  to  breeding  herd 88 

Recommendation 191 

Recounts  of  live  pups 109 

Report,  divisions  of 19 

Reef  driveway 129 

Reef  rookery 38 

Regulations  of  Paris  award 143,  234 

adapted  to  work  of  sealers 181 

effect  of 30 

failure  of 182 

obligations  of 183 

purpose  of 183 

revision  not  adequate 187 

trial  period  of 182 

Rejected  seals 98 

skins 124 

Remedy  for  decline 187 

Remipedia 43 

Revised  censusof  1896 95 

Revision  of  early  estimates : 

of  1872-1874 88,89 

of  1895...  86 


VI 


INDEX. 


Page. 

Rice,  George,  deposition  of 244 

Robben  Island  herd 45 

Rookeries,  the 36 

determination  of  boundaries 76 

formation  of 52 

inspection  of 139 

life  on 49 

names  of 36 

noise  of 63 

obstructed  by  ice 49 

unstable  population  of 78 

Russia,  interests  of 174 

Russian-American  Company 23,  24,  25,  26 

Salisbury,  Lord 178 

San  Diego,  the 142 

Sealing  season,  beginuing  of 50, 116 

Seal  grass 33,104 

Seals,  species  of 45 

ability  to  travel 127. 131 

age  of -" 68 

arrival  of 49 

attitudes  of 64 

"breaching" 144 

categories  of 46 

coloration  of 64 

departure  of 71 

enemies  of 71 

fasting  of 57 

fixed  habits  of 134 

"finning" 144 

individual  space  occupied ,  80,  81 

injuries  to 68 

law  of  distribution 78 

low  intelligence  of 134 

migrations  of 47 

mortality  among 70 

mortality  among  young 99 

not  affected  by  man 135, 141 

nomenclature  of 46 

parasites  of 70 

possibility  of  driving  elsewhere 136 

rate  of  travel 72 

shooting  of 144 

"sleepers" 144 

sleeping  of 63 

spearing  of 144 

staginess,  meaning  of 66 

swimming  of 72 

"travelers  " 144 

wounds  of 62 

Sealskin  industry,  demoralized  condition.   173, 175 

Sealing  of  the  South  Seas 153 

Seizure  of  vessels 30, 177 

Sex  of  salted  skins 155 

Sex  returns : 

Alexander's  report 155 


Sex  returns — Continued.  Page. 

Halkett's  report 156 

sealing  captains' 154 

customs  experts' 155 

Shooting,  loss  through 145 

.Shrinkage  of  breeding  area 107 

Ardigueu 107 

Tolstoi  sand  flat 107 

Sivutch  Rock 32,  38 

estimate  of 94 

Sivutch  rookery,  cause  of  occupation 138 

Skins: 

defective 121 

rejected 124 

treatment  of 119 

stagy 124 

Slaughter  of  the  seals 190 

Southern  fur  seals,  habits  of 73 

South  rookery,  Bering 125 

Spearheads  on  rookeries 145 

Spilki.  abandonment  of 137 

count  of 83 

St.  Paul : 

count  of  cows 91 

count  of  harems 91 

description  of 31 

rookeries  of 36 

St.  George,  description  of 31 

rookeries  of 41 

Stagy  season 65 

Starvation  of  pups 165 

Starved  pups,  count  of 166, 169 

estimate  for  1897 169,170 

Starving  pups,  notes  on 166, 167 

Steller,  George  Wilhelm 44 

Stejneger,  Dr.  L 17,119,125 

Summary  of  killings 207,  208,  209 

Superfluous  males 120 

Texts : 

affidavits  of  furriers 244 

Alaska  Commercial  Company's  lease.. .       236 

arbitration  treaty 228 

declarations  of  tribunal 236 

joint  conclusions  of  experts 240 

law  prohibiting  sealing 246 

modus  vivendi 227 

North  American  Commercial  Company's 

lease 238 

Paris  award 231 

regulations,  the 234 

Theory  of  overdriving 126 

!  Thompson,  Prof.  D'Arey  W 18, 107, 109, 114, 

156, 159, 168 

Tingle,  estimate  of  1886 84 

Tolstoi  rookery 40 

photograph  of,  1891 115 

Towuseud,  C.  H 18,48,146,148 


INDEX. 


VII 


Page. 
Townsend's  crosses 107 

Treaties  : 

1824-25 24 

1867 24 

1892 179,228 

Trading  companies : 

Parrott  &  Co 27 

Williams  &,  Haven 27 

Hntchinson,  Kohl  &  Co 27 

Tripartite  agreement  of  1888 178 

True  and  Townsend,  estimate  of  1895 85 

Ukase  of  1821 24 

Uucinaria 70,116 

Undersized  seals,  killing  of 124 

United  States,  interests  of . 173 

Unit  of  space : 

Elliott's 80 

True  and  Townseud's 81,85 


Page 

Veniaminof 25,  77 

Vostochni  rookery 36 

Virgin  cows 47 

Walrus  Island 32 

Wasteful  killing 124 

Williams,  T.T 174 

Weather,  effect  on  sealing 148 

Wingfield,  reference  to  letter  of 89 

Wischhnsen,  Edmund,  deposition  of 244 

Yanovsky,  report  of 25 

Yearlings 47 

Young  seals,  losses  anion^ 99 

Zapadni  (Medni)  drive 130 

Zapadni  rookery 40 

Zapadni  (St.  George) 41 

killings  on 207 

Zoltoi  ..  39 


OF  THB 

•TTNIVERSITY 


THIS     BOOTT     TC     TVTT 


TO 


BORROWED 


LOAN  DEPT. 


LO 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Static 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 
loans  may  be  renewed  by  c 

,e  recharged  by  bringing 


recharges  may  be  made  4 

days  prior  to  due  date. 



DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

•— — •• 

UG  142002 
JUN152003 


12,000(11/95) 


YE  01204 
U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


•  •      •  '•    V||    I  I 

cookaaiias 


vjo/ 

,> 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


